IC-NRLF 


SB    57    IfiH 


HAS 

SWEDENBORG'S 
"LOST  WORD" 
BEEN   FOUND? 
EDMUNDS, 


GIFT  OF 


VOL.  VII.— No.  5. 


JOURNAL 


May,  1913. 


OF  THE 


American  Society  for  Psychical  Research 


CONTENTS 


GENERAL  ARTICLES:  PAGE 

Has  Swedenborjf's  "Lost  Word"  Been 

Found  ?  -  -  257 

"  Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars  "    -        -  272 
Personal  Experiences  -  284 


EDITORIAL  : 


Professor  Muensterberg's  Progress         -  296 


BOOK  RB VIEWS - 


303 


HAS  SWEDENBORG'S  "  LOST  WORD  "  BEEN 

FOUND? 

By  Albert  J.  Edmunds. 

\i 

When  an  astronomer  makes  an  observation,  his  first  step 
is  to  calculate  for  refraction.  He  knows  that  the  star  he  is 
studying-  does  not  send  its  rays  directly  into  our  atmosphere, 
but  obliquely:  those  rays  are  bent  in  their  course  by  that 
atmosphere,  and  this  distortion  must  be  allowed  for  before 
any  successful  calculation  can  be  made. 

Must  we  not  allow  for  a  like  refraction  in  spiritual  things? 
Is  not  Swedenborg's  Doctrine  of  Adaptation  an  attempt  to 
account  for  this  very  phenomenon?  Such  being  the  case,  it 
will  not  be  strange  if  the  seer's  own  visions  require  a  calcu- 
lation for  distortion.  Of  course,  in  this  case,  we  shall  be 
"  wise  after  the  event."  But  only  by  being1  thus  wise  a  great 
many  times  can  we  make  any  progress  at  all  in  the  most  dif- 
ficult and  recondite  of  all  the  sciences. 

When  a  ship  is  arriving  in  a  fog,  the  first  thing  that  we 
know  is  merely  that  some  large  object  is  coming:  only  by  de- 
grees do  we  descry  the  outlines  of  a  ship.  So,  in  our  psychical 
Jabberwock,  we  can  be  sure  that  "  somebody  killed  some- 
thing "  long  before  we  know  who  and  what.  But  science  is 
patient,  and  refuses  to  throw  up  the  sponge — refuses  to  say: 
"  This  uncertain  nonsense  is  not  worth  while !  "  I  have  ob- 

264195 


258       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

served  myself  that  mental  images  go  in  pairs,  and  that  the 
wrong  one  is  liable  to  be  projected  into  the  mind. 

In  my  first  copy  of  this  article,  intended  for  a  Sweden- 
borgian  magazine,  I  refrained  from  giving  a  sample  of  the 
experiences  which  led  me  to  formulate  this  law,  tho  I  dis- 
tinctly said  that  it  was  based  upon  experience.  A  Sweden- 
borgian  minister,  who  read  the  manuscript,  thereupon  re- 
marked : 

"  '  Pairs  of  images  '  seems  to  me  a  pure  fiction  imported 
for  a  special  purpose." 

This  convinced  me  of  the  hopelessness  of  presenting  sci- 
entific criticism  to  the  average  theologian.  I  now  give  one 
experience  out  of  many  which  have  led  me  to  formulate  a  law 
of  pairs.  In  1893  I  dreamed  that  John  Wana maker  had 
died.  Shortly  afterwards  Anthony  J.  Drexel  died.  Now,  of 
the  two,  both  of  whom  meant  nothing  to  me  but  local 
magnates,  Wanamaker  was  the  one  whom  I  had  seen,  but 
Drexel  never.  I  therefore  concluded  that  the  basis  of  my 
dream  was  the  death  of  Drexel,  whose  image,  being  strange 
to  me,  was  supplanted  by  that  of  Wanamaker,  already  in  my 
mind.  Many  more  experiences  of  this  nature  have  led  me 
to  formulate  a  law  of  pairs  or  groups  in  mental  images, 
whereby  the  one  most  familiar  is  projected  into  the  mind  in 
place  of  an  unknown  one.  Far  from  my  tentative  law  being 
"  pure  fiction,  imported  for  a  special  purpose,"  it  was  the 
result  of  experience,  used  to  explain  phenomena. 

In  my  article  in  The  Helper  *  for  March  16,  1898,  I  sum- 
marized the  conclusions  of  Richard  Hodgson  with  respect  to 
alleged  post-mortem  communications,  and  pointed  out  the 
difficulties  of  obtaining  correct  answers  from  spirits. 

Richard  Hodgson  died  in  1905,  regretted  by  all  who  knew 
him.  That  vigorous,  transparent,  athletic  personality  was  a 
champion  of  whom  any  cause  might  be  proud.  Since  his 
death,  his  apostolic  successor,  Dr.  James  H.  Hyslop,  has  been 
experimenting  with  a  series  of  trance-communications  pur- 
porting to  come  from  Hodgson's  continued  personality.  In 


*  Imperfectly  and  incorrectly  reprinted  in   The  New-Church   Messenger 
in  recent  years. 


Has  Swedcnborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  259 

a  Report  of  nearly  a  thousand  pages,  dated  May,  1912,* 
Dr.  Hyslop  gives  the  following  as  his  predecessor's  present 
opinion  :— 

"  Hodgson  Personality  ".  Sometimes  in  the  early  work  at 
the  Piper  light  I  could  not  understand  the  movements  and 
changes  and  apparent  desire  for  changes  without  power  to 
express  what  the  changes  ought  to  be,  and  I  learned  much  as 
one  would  learn  the  desires  of  a  child  before  it  can  talk. 

James  H.  Hyslop.     Good. 

R.  H.  Now  for  a  long  time  I  have  wished  to  say  that 
many  of  the  lessons  I  have  learned  there  have  been  of  great 
use  to  me  in  communicating.  I  knew  too  much  to  be  a  good 
communicator  at  first.  That  is  literally  true. 

/.  H.  H.     Good. 

R.  H.  I  knew  the  complications  and  conditions,  and  I 
could  not  forget  them  when  I  made  my  first  efforts ;  and  the 
consciousness  of  them,  together  with  the  consciousness  of 
the  desires  of  my  friends,  hampered  and  hindered  me.  You 
know  how  that  might  occur. 

/.  H.  H.     Yes,  perfectly. 

R.  H.  Now  much  of  that  condition  is  worn  away,  and  I 
am  doing  better  everywhere.  William  [James]  was  never  as 
intimately  associated  with  all  the  forms  and  methods  of  ex- 
pression as  I,  and  he  had  not  so  many  ideas  and  understand- 
ings to  overcome.  His  one  desire  is  to  be  slow  and  sure  and 
let  nothing  come  that  is  not  of  his  own.  No  fugitive  ideas 
to  float  in  unawares  into  the  communications.  This  is  not 
a  new  phase  of  thought  to  you  and  me.  The  fugitive  ex- 
pressions you  understand. 

/.  H.  H.     Yes,  perfectly. 

R.  H.  But  we  are  seeking  to  eliminate  all  that,  as  far  as 
we  can,  at  least;  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  completely 
inhibit  one's  self  and  thought  and  let  nothing  but  the  pure 
present  expression  come.  Try  it  yourself  in  the  ordinary 
conversations  of  life,  and  see  how  the  fugitive  drops  in  and  is 
constantly  bringing  misunderstandings  of  the  idea  you  are 


*  Proceedings  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  Vol.  VI, 
New  York,  May,  1912,  pp.  976,  octavo,  price  $8.00. 


260       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

trying  to  express  to  your  most  intimate  friend.  It  is  all  the 
same,  Hyslop.  It  is  expression  of  personality  in  either 
sphere,  but  personality  so  distorted  and  tempered  by  other 
personalities  that  no  one  is  definitely  apart  and  alone.  Verily 
no  man  liveth  to  himself.  How  true  that  is.  We  are  a  few 
degrees  more  sensitive  than  you  in  the  world  of  physical  ex- 
pression, that  is  all. 

*I  sometimes  think  that  the  spirits  who  have  nothing 
to  lose  or  fear  by  the  way  of  reputation  or  understanding- 
give  the  clearest  messages  in  an  offhand  manner  about  the 
physical  life  they  have  lived  and  the  people  who  still  live  in 
physical  surroundings. 

This  is  just  a  word  I  have  long  wished  to  give  you,  and 
so  I  rushed  to  the  front  with  my  message  before  the  wires 
were  crossed. 

/.  H.  H.     Good. 

R.  H.  You  do  not  need  to  have  me  write  R.  H.,  but  I 
do  so  that  there  may  be  no  question  in  the  records. 

/.  H.  H.     Good. 

R.  H.  Your  word  might  not  be  sufficient." 
In  transcribing  this  from  the  scientific  account,  Dr.  Hyslop 
has  omitted  the  questions  and  iterations  with  which  these 
painfully  recorded  experiments  abound,  while  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  punctuate  and  introduce  initials.  The  full 
name  of  William  James  is  also  added  by  me. 

From  this  important  utterance  and  others  like  it  Dr.  Hys- 
lop deduces  the  layv  that  the  communicator  can  neither  inhibit  his 
own  marginal  associations  and  their  transmission,  nor  the  intrusions 
of  other  minds  and  their  thoughts,  when  they  are  near,  aiding. 
In  other  words,  the  communicator  projects  not  only  the  cen- 
tral mental  image  which  he  wishes  to  transmit,  but  the  fugi- 
tive or  marginal  images  that  accompany  it;  while  he  is  also 
hampered  by  thoughts  in  the  minds  of  other  spirits  around 
both  parties.  The  formulation  of  this  law  is  the  leading  fea- 
ture of  Hyslop's  masterly  Report. 

The  followers  of  Swedenborg  claim  an  exemption  from 
the  law  of  Refraction  for  him,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  in 


*  I  have  made  a  fresh  paragraph  here  for  the  sake  of  clearness. — A.  J.  E. 


Has  Sivedeuborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  261 

both  worlds  at  once,  and  so  received  truth  direct.  But  the 
same  claim  is  made  for  Buddha,  and  science,  while  not  deny- 
ing this  claim  a  priori,  seeks  to  investigate  each  case  for  itself. 

We  shall  now  apply  this  law  to  the  alleged  communica- 
tions made  to  Emanuel  Swedenborg  by  spirits  from  Central 
Asia  concerning  a  lost  sacred  literature  which  they  affirmed 
to  exist  in  "  Great  Tartary  " :  i.  e.,  in  the  language  of  eigh- 
teenth-century geography,  the  Chinese  Empire  outside 
China  proper,  but  including  Chinese  Turkestan,  as  may  be  seen 
from  contemporary  maps.*  The  first  passage  concerning 
these  things  is  found  in  The  Apocalypse  Revealed  (Amsterdam, 
1766),  paragraph  No.  11.  For  non-Swedenborgians  I  ex- 
plain that,  according  to  our  Seer,  the  Old  Testament  was 
preceded  by  an  older  revelation  which  he  calls  the  Ancient 
Word.  Our  first  text  now  follows : — 

"  Concerning  this  Ancient  Word,  which  was  extant  in 
Asia  before  the  Israelitish  Word,  it  is  worth  while  to  men- 
tion that  it  is  still  preserved  among  the  people  who  inhabit 
Great  Tartary;  I  have  conversed  with  spirits  and  angels  in 
the  spiritual  world  who  came  from  thence,  who  said  that  they 
possess  a  Word,  and  have  possessed  it  from  ancient  times; 
and  in  conformity  to  this  Word  their  Divine  worship  is  es- 
tablished; and  that  it  consists  of  mere  correspondences:  they 
said  that  it  contains  the  book  of  Jasher,  which  is  mentioned 
in  Joshua  X.  12,  13,  and  2  Sam.uel  I,  17,  18;  and  also  that 
they  possess  the  books  mentioned  by  Moses,  as  The  Wars  of 
Jehovah  and  The  Propheticals  (Numbers  XXI,  14,  15;  27-30;) 
and  when  I  read  to  them  the  words  quoted  thence  by  Moses, 
they  examined  whether  they  were  extant  there,  and  found 
them :  from  which  circumstance  it  is  very  clear  to  me  that 
the  old  Word  is  still  preserved  among  them.  In  the  course 
of  the  conversation,  they  said  that  they  worshipped  Jehovah, 
some  as  an  invisible,  and  some  as  a  visible  God.  Moreover 
they  related  that  they  do  not  suffer  foreigners  to  come  among 
them,  except  the  Chinese,  with  whom  they  cultivate  peace, 
because  the  Emperor  of  China  is  from  their  country;  and 


*  See,  for  example,  Gordon's  Geography,  published  during  Swedenborg's 
lifetime. 


262      Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

further,  that  they  are  so  populous,  that  they  do  not  believe 
any  country  in  the  world  to  be  more  so;  which  is  very  cred- 
ible from  the  wall  so  many  miles  long,  which  the  Chinese 
formerly  built  as  a  defence  against  any  invasion  from  them. 
[The  corresponding  passage  in  the  T.  C.  R.  given  below,  here 
adds  matter  about  the  Creation,  Deluge,  etc.]  Seek  for  it  in 
China,  and  per  adventure  you  may  find  it  there  among  the  Tartars." 

Now,  applying  our  principle  of  Refraction,  we  may  say 
that,  should  we  find  in  this  region  any  sacred  literature  of 
epoch-making  import  for  the  understanding  of  religion,  our 
Seer's  vision  would  be  abundantly  justified.  Note  in  the  first 
place  that  no  Old  Testament  literature  or  its  affinities  is 
forthcoming  from  this  region,  but  has  been  found  extensively 
in  Babylonia.  The  Chaldean  Creation  and  Deluge  legends 
of  that  land,  absolutely  unexplored  in  Swedenborg's  time, 
would  have  been  a  partial  fulfilment  of  his  vision,  but  literal 
as  to  place,  had  they  been  discovered  in  Turkestan.  So  here 
we  find  a  vision  fulfilled  in  the  wrong  place.  But  I  shall 
presently  show  that,  in  Chinese  Turkestan,  so  near  the  fron- 
tier of  China  and  so  far  within  the  province  of  Kansu  as  to 
answer  the  description  of  "  China  among  the  Tartars  ",  there 
has  lately  been  found  Buddhist  literature  of  epoch-making 
importance  for  the  history  of  religion,  by  making  more  prob- 
able than  ever  before  an  historical  connection  between  the 
two  great  world-religions  of  to-day,  and  thus  furnishing  the 
objective  basis  for  the  coming  world-cult  or  final  federation 
of  all  beliefs. 

My  thesis  therefore  is  that  Swedenborg  had  two  visions 
which  he  mistook  for  one :  viz., 

1.  A  vision  of  a  lost  sacred  literature  which  was   the 
lineal  ancestor  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  which  was  destined 
to  be  found  in  Babylonia;  and* 

2.  A  vision  of  a  far  more  epoch-making  discovery  of  a 
lost  sacred  literature  in   Chinese  Turkestan  which   was   to 
connect  Christianity  and  Buddhism  and  lay  the  foundation 
for  the  coming  world-religion. 


*  It  has  been  pointed  out  to  me  by  Swedenborgians  that  Swedenborg  was 
aware  of  the  Ancient  Word  in  Babylonia  (D.  S.  S.  102).  But  the  subject  of 
this  paper  is  the  discoveries  on  the  frontier  of  China. 


Has  Swedenborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  263 


But,  owing  to  the  fact  that  Sivedenborg  read  more  Hebrew 
than  Greek,  and  wrote  more  about  the  Old  Testament  than  about 
the  Nciv,  his  prepossession  transformed  the  New  Testament  vision 
into  one  of  Old  Testament  significance.  It  may  be  objected  that 
the  two  Apocalyptic  works  of  Swedenborg  are  almost  equal 
in  amount  to  the  Arcana  Coelestia,  especially  when  consid- 
ering that  the  Apocalypse  is  shorter  than  Genesis  or  Exodus, 
the  subjects  of  the  Arcana;  but,  in  the  light  of  modern  criti- 
cism, the  Apocalyse  is  more  of  an  Old  Testament  book  than 
any  other  in  the  New,  as  may  be  seen  at  a  glance  from  the 
uncial  quotations  in  Westcott  and  Hort.  I  repeat  that  Swe- 
denborg was  more  at  home  in  the  Old  Testament  than  in  the 
New,  which  latter  he  read  in  Latin  more  than  in  Greek  as  my 
friend  Wilfred  Schoff  has  pointed  out  to  me.  This  scholar 
considers  that  Swedenborg's  treatise  on  the  Athanasian 
Creed  is  sufficient  proof  of  his  weakness  in  Greek,  tho 
Schoff  would  not  deny  a  knowledge  of  it  as  an  academic  ac- 
complishment. 

We  now  come  to  the  new  facts  upon  which  this  article  is 
based:  viz.,  the  discovery  of  Tokharish  and  Sogdian  versions 
of  the  Buddhist  Scriptures  in  Chinese  Turkestan.  The  sig- 
nificance of  this  is  that  Sogdian  was  a  vernacular  of  the 
Parthian  Empire,  the  buffer  state  between  Palestine  and 
India,  and  therefore  the  Parthians  who  were  present  at  the 
founding  of  the  Christian  religion  (Acts  II,  9)  could  read 
those  scriptures  in  their  own  speech  without  knowing  San- 
skrit or  Pali.  Tokharish  was  spoken  in  Bactria  and  prob- 
ably in  the  adjoining  parts  of  Parthia  too.  Both  tongues  were 
discovered  some  years  ago  and  called  "  unknown  languages," 
Tokharish  being  called  Language  No.  1,  and  Sogdian,  No.  2. 
But  lately  we  have  found  bilingual  texts,  and  therefore  are 
able  to  translate  what  were  mysteries  ten  years  ago. 

In  1906  I  pointed  out,  in  an  essay  which  has  been  criti- 
cised by  eminent  scholars  in  Germany,  Great  Britian,  France 
and  Holland,  two  quotations  in  the  Gospel  of  John  made 
direct  from  Buddhist  books  (John  VII,  38;  XII.  34).* 


*  Buddhist  Texts  Quoted  as  Scripture  by  the  Gospel  of  John :  a  discovery 
in  the  Lower  Criticism.     Philadelphia,  1906.      (London:  Luzac  &  Co.) 


£64       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

The  great  objection  to  my  thesis  was  that  John  could 
not  read  Sanskrit  or  Pali,  and  that  the  Pitakas  had  not  been 
translated  into  any  language  outside  of  India  (except  the 
first  beginnings  of  the  Chinese  versions,  which  date  from 
the  age  of  Paul  and  Nero).  But  in  1907,  Aurel  Stein,  of  the 
Anglo-Indian  Turkestan  expedition,  discovered  at  Tun-huang 
a  Buddhist  library  which  had  been  closed  up  during  a  period 
of  warfare  about  1035,  and  kept  dry  by  the  rock-chamber 
and  the  sandy  soil  where  it  had  the  fortune  to  be  found. 
In  this  library  there  was  a  Sogdian  Jataka,  i.  e.,  a  Buddhist  Birth- 
story  in  a  language  probably  understood  by  some  of  the  Parthians 
who  were  present  at  Pentecost.  The  religious  significance  of 
this  we  shall  discuss  presently.  There  was  also  a  Chinese 
printed  book  dated  A.  D.  864,  as  well  as  other  matter  equally 
astonishing.  (See  M.  Aurel  Stein:  Ruins  of  Desert  Cathay. 
London,  1912.) 

Nothing  in  the  history  of  modern  research  is  more  roman- 
tic than  this.  Mr.  Stein  could  not  read  Chinese,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  Sogdian;  but  in  1908  the  young  French  Sinologist  Paul 
Pelliot  spent  three  weeks  crouching  in  the  niche  (for  the 
rock-chamber  was  crammed  with  books  and  would  barely 
admit  a  man)  "  drunk  with  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  and  dis- 
covery," to  paraphrase  the  racy  French  of  Professor  Sylvain 
Levi,  of  the  celebrated  Sorbonne,  and  easily  the  leading  Bud- 
dhist scholar  of  the  world.  The  documents  thus  found,  as  well 
as  others  found  by  the  Germans,  are  now  in  Paris,  London, 
Berlin  and  Pekin;  and  accounts  thereof,  as  well  as  transla- 
tions, are  appearing  in  such  learned  organs  as  the  Journal 
Asiatique,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  Sogdian  Jataka 
(January,  1912).  This  means  that  the  legend  of  the  prince 
who  gave  all  he  had  away,  was  being  translated  into  a  ver- 
nacular of  the  Parthian  Empire  by  enthusiastic  Buddhist  mis- 
sionaries at  the  time  of  the  Christian  era.  Tokharish  texts, 
both  Discipline  and  ordinary  Scripture,  or  Sutra,  have  also 
been  found. 

In  my  Buddhist  and  Christian  Gospels,  Fourth  Edition,  Vol.  I, 
Philadelphia,  1908,  p.  156,  I  quoted  a  passage  from  Strabo, 
which  says  that  nearly  the  same  language  pervaded  Media 
and  parts  of  Persia,  Bactria  and  Sogdiana;  and  I  added  that 


Has  Swedenborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  265 


when  Buddhist  ideas  went  westward  they  would  surely  be 
translated.  In  1906,  also,  in  my  Buddhist  Texis  in  John,  I  had 
maintained  that  a  "  lost  version  of  the  Sutras  "  had  travelled 
westward.  Now  my  predictions  are  fulfilled :  we  have  found 
traces  of  at  least  two  versions  in  languages  west  of  India. 
To  show  how  this  discovery  affects  the  Grseco-Roman 
world,  I  will  advert  to  one  case.  Alexander  Polyhistor,  a 
writer  of  Asia  Minor  of  the  first  century  B.  C.,  alludes  to  the 
Samanseans  (o-a/uavatoi)  of  Bactria.  Now  the  Buddhist  philoso- 
phers were  called  Cramawas  in  Sanskrit  and  Sama;ias  in  Pali. 
When  the  Greeks  were  quoting  the  Sanskrit  form,  they 
wrote  it  o-c^uave?,  and  we  therefore  argued  that  Polyhistor  was 
quoting  the  Pali  form,  which  must  have  been  the  one  known 
to  him  in  Bactria.  But  now  we  find  that  Tokharish,  the  newly 
found  lost  language  of  Bactria,  had  the  same  word  in  the 
form  Shamane.  Polyhistor  was  therefore  transcribing  into 
Greek,  not  Pali,  but  Tokharish,  a  foreign  language  in  which 
Buddhist  books  were  being  read  at  the  time  of  Christ. 

Before  these  recent  discoveries  by  Germans,  Frenchmen 
and  English  in  Chinese  Turkestan,  we  already  knew  of  an- 
other important  link  between  Buddhism  and  the  Western 
world:  viz.,  the  Indo-Greek  coins  of  Kanishka  and  other 
Indo-Scythian  and  Bactrian  potentates  who  reigned  in  the 
period  preceding  and  succeeding  the  Christian  era.  One  of 
these  kings  called  himself  "  upholder  of  the  true  religion/' 
another  (the  Greek  Menander)  has  the  Buddhist  symbols  of 
wheel  and  tree  on  a  coin ;  another  has  a  Buddhist  stupa,  while 
the  great  Scythian,  Kanishka  himself,  has  an  image  of 
Buddha,  with  his  name  in  Greek  letters : 

BOAAO. 

The  date  of  Kanishka  is  still  being  debated,  but  recent  re- 
search bids  fair  to  place  him  in  the  first  century  B.  C. 

Now,  if  we  can  prove  that  Luke  and  John  quote  Buddhist 
texts  or  legends,  as  I  believe  they  do,  a  great  religious  bar- 
rier will  be  broken  down :  we  shall  cease  to  call  Buddhism 
"  heathen,"  and  shall  admit  that  it  was  one  of  the  factors  in 
the  composition  of  our  own  religion.  This  admission  will 
have  the  effect  of  removing  the  harshness  that  now  separ- 


266       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

ates  the  two  faiths,  and  must  inevitably  lead  at  last  to  an 
understanding  between  them,  a  mutual  respect  for  each  other, 
and  finally  to  a  world-religion  wherein  the  leading  truths  of 
each  will  have  a  share.  The  difficulty  so  far  has  been  our  ig- 
norance of  the  history  of  Buddhism  and  the  vastness  of  its 
early  propaganda.  We  knew  that  it  entered  China  and  that 
its  missionaries  spent  centuries  translating  their  Scriptures 
into  Chinese.  We  knew  that  later  it  entered  Corea,  Japan 
and  Tibet;  that  it  spread  into  Farther  India  and  some  East 
Indian  islands;  but  we  have  not  known  until  now  that  it  was 
being  propagated,  at  the  very  time  of  Christ,  in  the  tongues 
of  the  Parthian  and  Bactrian  dominions.  Whether  Greek 
itself  was  ever  one  of  its  vehicles  we  do  not  yet  know,  but  it 
is  quite  possible,  judging  from  the  coins.  When  a  story  like 
the  Penitent  Brigand,  converted  by  Buddha,  was  being  carved 
on  temple  walls  and  translated  into  foreign  tongues,  through- 
out a  great  portion  of  the  continent  of  Asia,  it  is  easy  to  see 
why  the  Gentile  Evangelist  should  be  anxious  to  appropriate 
it,  and  why  he  did  violence  to  the  text  of  Mark  in  order 
to  introduce  it  (for  his  authority,  Mark,  most  clearly  excludes 
it  by  telling  us  that  both  the  malefactors  reviled  the  Lord). 
This  is  only  one  instance  of  what  will  be  ultimately  estab- 
lished by  criticism  when  the  means  of  communication  be- 
tween the  great  pre-Christian  world-religion  and  its  younger 
brother  are  at  length  made  known  by  just  such  discoveries 
as  this  one  of  Tokharish  and  Sogdian. 

For  further  information  I  must  refer  my  readers  to  Buddhist 
and  Christian  Gospels  and  to  the  articles  in  The  Monist  and 
Open  Court,  of  Chicago,  in  which  I  am  keeping  my  researches 
abreast  of  the  times. 

Besides  minor  references  to  the  Lost  Word,  which  may  be 
found  in  Potts's  Concordance,  under  the  head  of  Tartary,  one 
more  important  passage  in  Swedenborg  remains  to  be  no- 
ticed: True  Christian  Religion,  paragraph  279  (Amsterdam, 

mi):- 

"  Concerning  that  Ancient  Word  which  has  been  in  Asia 
before  the  Israelitish  Word,  it  is  permitted  to  relate  this 
news:  that  it  is  still  reserved  there,  among  the  people  who 
live  in  Great  Tartary.  I  have  conversed  with  spirits  and 


Has  Szvedenborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  267 

angels  who  were  thence  in  the  spiritual  world;  wrho  informed 
me  that  they  possess  the  Word,  and  that  they  have  possessed 
it  from  ancient  times,  and  they  perform  their  divine  ivorship 
according  to  this  Word,  and  that  it  consists  of  mere  correspond- 
ence. They  said  that  in  it  also  is  the  book  of  Jasher,  which 
is  mentioned  in  Joshua  X,  12,  13,  and  in  the  second  book  of 
Samuel  I,  17,  18;  and  also  with  them  are  the  books  called 
The  Wars  of  Jehovah  and  The  Enunciations,  which  are  men- 
tioned by  Moses,  Numbers  XXI,  14,  15,  and  27-30;  and  when 
I  read  to  them  the  words  which  Moses  had  taken  thence, 
they  looked  to  see  if  they  were  there,  and  found  them.  Hence 
it  was  manifest  to  me  that  the  Ancient  Word  is  still  with 
them. 

"  In  conversing  with  them,  they  said  that  they  worship 
Jehovah,  some  as  an  invisible  God  and  some  as  visible.  They 
further  told  me  that  they  do  not  suffer  foreigners  to  come 
among  them,  except  the  Chinese,  with  whom  they  cultivate 
peace,  because  the  Chinese  Emperor  is  from  their  country;  and 
also  that  they  are  so  populous  that  they  do  not  believe  any 
country  in  the  whole  world  to  be  more  so;  which  also  is 
credible  from  the  wall  of  so  many  miles  which  the  Chinese  for- 
merly built  for  their  protection  against  invasion  from  them. 
Moreover,  I  heard  from  the  angels  that  the  first  chapters 
of  Genesis,  which  treat  concerning  the  creation,  concerning 
Adam  and  Eve,  concerning  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  con- 
cerning their  sons  and  posterity  till  the  flood,  and  likewise 
concerning  Noah  and  his  sons,  are  also  in  that  Word;  and 
thus  that  they  were  copied  thence  by  Moses. 

"  The  angels  and  spirits  from  Great  Tartary  appear  in  the 
southern  quarter,  on  the  side  of  the  east,  and  are  separated 
from,  the  rest  by  their  dwellings  in  a  higher  expanse,  and  by 
their  not  admitting  any  to  them  from  the  Christian  world; 
and  that  if  they  ascend,  they  guard  them,  that  they  may  not 
go  away.  The  reason  for  this  separation  is  because  they  pos- 
sess another  Word." 

To  show  that  my  interpretation  of  this  remarkable  passage 
is  nothing  sudden,  let  me  repeat  what  I  said  about  it  in  my 
Buddhist  Bibliography,  based  upon  the  libraries  of  Philadelphia 
(Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society,  London,  1903,  p.  35): 


268       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

"  Notices  of  Buddhism  by  early  Travelers  and  Writers, 
down  to  1800. 

"  The  True  Christian  Religion.  By  Emanuel  Sweden- 
borg.  (Many  editions;  original  in  Latin:  Amsterdam,  1771. 
Paragraph  No.  279  anticipates  the  discovery  of  a  sacred  lit- 
erature in  Central  Asia.  Though  Swedenborg  imagines  that 
it  was  a  lost  Semitic  book,  the  precursor  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, it  is  plain  that  the  Buddhist,  not  the  Babylonian,  lore 
is  adumbrated.  Thus,  it  is  to  be  found  in  '  Great  Tartary'; 
worship  is  still  based  upon  it;  it  contains  the  cult  both  of  a 
visible  and  an  invisible  God.  Its  Genesis=Digha  27,  with 
parallel  in  Mahavastu;  Enunciations=Udana;  Book  of  the 
Wars,  i.  e.  Temptations,  of  the  Lord=Mara-Sawyutta.)  " 

I  had  already  given  this  explanation  before  the  New- 
Church  Society  of  Philadelphia,  as  reported  in  the  New- 
Church  Messenger,  May  1,  1901.  The  interpretation  is  an- 
other application  of  our  principle  of  Refraction.  Thus,  when 
the  spirits  turned  to  the  Buddhist  Genesis*  (first  translated 
into  English  in  the  Chicago  Monist  for  January,  1904,  and 
quoted  in  Hastings's  Dictionary  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  article 
"Ages  of  the  World")  and  when  they  found  therein  the 
story  of  the  forbidden  foods  eaten  by  the  first  men  and  result- 
ing in  the  genesis  of  the  sex-passion  and  the  fall  of  man- 
kind from  a  spiritual  to  a  physical  state,  that  would  be 
to  Swedenborg  sufficient  evidence  for  the  primeval  Gen- 
esis of  his  visions ;  for  of  course  he  did  not  know  that  the 
Digha  Nikaya  was  an  Aryan  document  not  earlier  than 
B.  C.  400.  So  too  with  the  Wars  of  the  Lord.  The 
Mara-Samyutta,  with  its  stories  of  Buddha's  many  conflicts 
with  the  Evil  One,  would  answer  to  Swedenborg' s  idea  of 
the  Lord's  Temptations  as  related  in  the  Psalms  and  other 
sacred  sagas  with  a  deep  mystical  meaning.  Then  there  is 
the  Udana  (literally  "  Out-breathings  ")  a  book  of  legends 
each  founded  upon  a  brief  ejaculation  or  Enunciation  of 


*  Sutra  27  in  the  Pali  Long  Collection ;  No.  5  in  the  Chinese.  We  owe 
this  information  to  the  magnificent  study  by  Anesaki,  in  Transactions  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Japan  for  1908.  When  Nanjio  made  his  famous  catalog 
of  the  Chinese  Buddhist  Tripitaka  in  1883,  he  could  not  identify  this  Sutra  in 
the  Chinese. 


Has  Swedenborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  269 


Buddha's.  When,  in  my  Buddhist  and  Christian  Gospels,  I 
render  Udana  by  this  term,  and  call  it  the  Book  of  Enuncia- 
tions, I  am  simply  showing  my  Swedenborgian  colors. 

Of  course  if  these  books  existed  only  in  the  Pali  Canon 
they  would  be  merely  sectarian  and  not  Catholic  Buddhism. 
But  the  Genesis  document  exists  also  in  Chinese,  Tibetan 
and  corrupt  Sanskrit,  emanating  from  different  sects  from 
that  of  the  Elders  who  have  transmitted  the  Pali.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  Book  of  Temptations  and  of  the  Enuncia- 
tions, the  latter  at  least  so  far  as  Tibetan  is  concerned.  Re- 
cent discoveries  in  Chinese  Turkestan  have  brought  to  light 
fragments  of  the  Sanskrit  Udana*  and  of  the  Classified  Col- 
lection in  the  same  recension  as  the  Chinese  and  therefore 
containing,  in  its  entirety,  the  Book  of  Temptations.  The 
cult  of  a  visible  God  (=Buddha)  and  an  invisible  (=Dharma, 
or  Truth)  is  perfectly  comprehensible  to  the  student  of 
Buddhism. 

"  Noah  and  his  sons  "  are  more  difficult  to  account  for;  but 
the  gradual  deterioration  of  the  race,  as  related  in  the  Digha, 
might  suggest  this. 

The  fact  that  "  divine  worship  is  still  performed  according 
to  this  lost  Word,"  necessitates  the  books  of  a  living  religion; 
and  the  Buddhist  is  the  only  one  available  in  that  part  of  the 
world,  the  few  scattered  Chinamen  who  represent  the  Con- 
fucian Classics  and  the  great  literature  of  Taoism  being  in- 
sufficient. Neither  Confucius  nor  Lao-tse  ever  became  the 
teacher  of  the  Tartars,  but  Buddha  became  so  as  early  as 
the  time  of  Christ,  and  probably  earlier.  We  now  know 
that  not  only  the  Scythians  of  Afghanistan  and  both  Turke- 
stans  were  Buddhists,  but  that  even  the  Turks  were  so,  long 
before  they  became  Mohammedans;  and  we  have  found  in 
Central  Asia  the  traces  of  Buddhist  books  in  early  Turkish. 

With  regard  to  the  Chinese  Emperors  "  coming  from  their 
country,"  I  used  to  puzzle  over  this,  because  I  thought  it 
could  only  refer  to  the  Manchu  dynasty,  which  was  so  recent 
as  the  seventeenth  century.  But  I  am  now  informed  that 


*  See,  for  example,  the  curious  bilingual  fragment  (Sanskrit  and  Tok- 
harish)  from  the  Book  of  Enunciations  in  the  Journal  Asiatique  for  May,  1911. 
The  fragment  is  about  the  conquest  of  old  age,  disease  and  death. 


270      Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

"the  Posterior  Chow  and  the  Tsin  [dynasties],  who  did  so 
much  for  Buddhism,  were  really  Huns,  and  ruled  over  a  large 
proportion  of  Hiungnu  subjects."* 

The  present  interpretation  of  these  things  is  in  line  with 
Swedenborg's  other  great  vision :  viz.,  the  Last  Judgment, 
which  stands  in  intimate  relation  with  India.  In  this  vision 
our  Seer  proclaimed  that  the  year  1757  was  the  beginning  of 
a  new  order  of  things.  We  now  know  that  ifcwas.  Every 
schoolboy  in  the  British  dominions  is  taught  that  the  battle 
of  Plassey,  in  June,  1757,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Anglo- 
Indian  empire.  No  political  calculation  could  have  taught 
this  to  Swedenborg,  for  the  news  of  the  battle  did  not  reach 
Europe  until  early  in  1758,  as  I  have  verified  from  the  con- 
temporary newspapers  at  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Before  this  news  (which  of  course  could  mean  but 
little  at  the  time)  the  great  vision  of  the  passing  away  of 
the  old  Christian  Church  in  1757  and  the  genesis  of  a  new 
Church  had  been  granted  to  Swedenborg.  Out  of  the  Eng- 
lish dominion  of  India  has  come  the  translation  of  the  Sacred 
Books  of  the  East  and  the  establishment  of  a  cosmic  inter- 
course between  Europe  and  Asia  which  was  the  dream  of 
Alexander  and  the  despair  of  Caesar. 

I  therefore  answer  the  question  of  our  title  in  the  affirm- 
ative :  That  the  Lost  Word  has  been  found.  Confused  with  a 
vision  of  the  discovery  of  the  Babylonian  sacred  legends, 
which  were  the  lineal  ancestors  of  those  of  Genesis, 
was  the  greater  vision  of  a  lost  literature  to  be 
found  in  Central  Asia.  This  literature  proves  to  be 
the  Buddhist,  culminating  in  the  recent  discovery  of  the 
wrecks  of  a  propaganda  of  Buddhism  as  a  world-re- 
ligion at  the  time  of  Christ.  By  means  of  this  propaganda 
in  the  vernaculars  of  the  Bactrian  and  Parthian  empires,  it  is 
now  made  possible  for  the  first  time  to  establish  an  historical 
link  between  certain  Buddhist  doctrines  and  legends  which 
have  puzzled  scholars  for  two  generations  by  reason  of  their 
resemblance  to  things  in  Luke  and  John.  When  this  link  is 
recognized,  as  it  is  now  in  the  process  of  being/fthe  two  great 


*  Arthur  Lloyd,  The  Creed  of  Half  Japan,  London  and  N.  Y.,  1912,  p.  143. 


Has  Szvedenborg's  "Lost  Word"  Been  Found?  271 

religions  of  the  world,  which  have  hitherto  been  hostile,  will 
approach  each  other  with  respect,  and  the  last  obstacle  will 
be  removed  to  the  founding  of  a  modern  world-religion  based 
upon  the  facts  of  science,  physical,  historical  and  psychical. 

Evolution,  which  is  the  dominant  idea  of  Buddhism,  and 
Personality,  which  is  the  dominant  idea  of  Christianity,  will 
make  peace  with  each  other — a  thing  they  have  never  yet 
done,  except  in  India,  the  home  of  truth  and  intellectual 
peace.  The  besetting  sin  of  Evolution  is  to  regard  every- 
thing as  arising  from  nothing  and  disappearing  into  nothing: 
the  besetting  sin  of  Personality  is  to  ignore  sequence  and 
causes,  and  to  derive  all  things  from  the  fiat  of  a  Will.  In 
my  limited  reading  I  know  of  no  one  who  has  harmonized 
these  two  conflicting  theories  so  profoundly  as  Emanuel 
Swedenborg,  whose  writings  will  surely  be  one  of  the  classics 
of  the  coming  religion  of  mankind. 


/€J 

ri-/See,  for  example,  the  frank  and  manly  admission  of  Professor  Garbe,  of 

Tubingen,  in  the  Chicago  Monist  for  July,  1912 :  "  I  take  pleasure  in  using  this 
opportunity  to  grant  that  by  the  lucid  critique  of  Edmunds  the  probability  of 
the  hypothesis  of  Buddhist  loans  in  the  New  Testament  has  increased  in  my 
opinion."  (P.  478.) 


272       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  'Psychical  Research. 


"  JOURNEYS  TO  THE  PLANET  MARS." 

By  James  H.  Hyslop. 

Those  who  have  followed  the  subject  of  psychic  research 
will  remember  the  remarkably  interesting  book  of  Professor 
Flournoy  entitled:  "From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars"  a  book 
purporting  to  represent  a  case  of  the  reincarnation  of  a  de- 
ceased human  being  on  the  planet  Mars  and  communicating 
therefrom  regarding  its  inhabitants,  life,  institutions,  lan- 
guage and  various  things  pertaining  to  that  planet.  Profes- 
sor Flournoy  showed  very  clearly  how  large  a  part  in  these 
phenomena  the  subconscious  of  Mile.  Helene  Smith  played, 
though  he  admitted  that  there  were  some  supernormal  phe- 
nomena in  the  case.  But  whatever  the  supernormal,  which 
was  not  as  well  proved  as  was  desirable,  there  could  be  no 
doubt  about  the  remarkable  power  of  subsconscious  fabrica- 
tion manifested  in  the  case.  I  published  in  the  Annals  of 
Psychical  Science  and  in  the  Journal  for  Abnormal  Psychology 
articles  on  alleged  Martian  communications  through  Mrs. 
Smead.  The  detailed  record  was  not  published  and  hence  the 
extent  of  its  resemblance  to  Mile.  Helene  Smith's  was  not 
evident.  But  careful  experiment  with  the  case  of  Mrs. 
Smead,  to  say  nothing  of  other  records  not  published  at  any 
length  in  connection  with  the  Martian  matter,  showed  that 
she  had  supernormal  phenomena  and  some  of  these  have  been 
excellent.  The  fact  shows  what  relation  the  subconscious 
has  to  mediumistic  powers  or  possibly  that  non-evidential 
matter  may  have  unexpected  sources  at  times,  even  though 
it  may  be  so  influenced  by  subconscious  coloring  as  to  totally 
obscure  the  claims  for  any  other  source.  There  were  some 
alleged  communications  through  Mrs.  Piper  regarding  the 
planet  Mars,  but  I  do  not  have  access  to  them  at  present. 
They  were  not  systematic  as  with  the  case  of  Mile.  Helene 
Smith  and  Mrs.  Smead.  They  were  rather  casual,  though  they 
indicate  an  interest  in  that  planet,  possibly  influenced  by  the 
public  curiosity  regarding  it  from  the  discussion  of  astrono- 
mers. There  was  no  scientific  evidence,  however,  that  they 


''Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars."  273 

were  veridical.  Besides  the  communications  of  Mile.  Helene 
Smith  and  Mrs.  Smead  were  so  different  from,  each  other, 
coinciding  only  in  a  few  minor  and  unimportant  points,  that 
they  tend  to  discredit  all  claims  to  their  alleged  source.  This 
does  not  diminish  their  interest  for  the  psychologist:  for  he 
has  to  deal  with  a  very  large  mental  problem  in  this  per- 
petual simulation  of  spiritistic  phenomena,  especially  in  close 
connection  with  supernormal  facts  that  do  much  to  sustain 
that  claim.  Hence  for  a  variety  of  reasons  alleged  communi- 
cations from  the  planet  Mars  must  have  considerable  inter- 
est. I  place  no  emphasis  on  the  fact  that  the  natural  human 
interest  is  in  the  question  whether  that  planet  is  inhabited  or 
not.  That  has  no  part  in  our  consideration  of  it,  though  it 
may  have  an  influence  in  the  suggestion  and  creation  of  the 
phenomena  in  the  minds  of  those  who  give  them  as  communi- 
cations from  the  planet.  It  is  the  psychological  problem 
of  subconsious  action  that  gives  the  statements  their  primary 
interest,  together  with  the  question  of  survival  after  death, 
with  which  such  communications  are  usually  associated.  We 
have  to  ask  and  answer  why  they  are  thus  associated  with 
the  general  processes  that  are  the  sources  of  the  supernormal. 
But  we  are  not  yet  in  a  position  to  answer  this  question. 
We  have  still  to  collect  the  facts  that  will  enable  us  to  answer 
it  intelligently. 

I  have  ascertained  that  there  is  another  alleged  case  of 
communications  with  that  planet,  but  I  have  never  been  able 
to  induce  the  party  to  let  me  see  the  record.  However  there 
is  still  another  instance  of  it  that  was  published  by  the  author 
who  was  the  subject  herself  of  the  alleged  communications. 
I  have  known  of  the  existence  of  the  volume  for  some  years, 
but  only  recently  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  it.  It  was 
not  published  by  any  one  whose  imprimatur  would  protect 
the  book.  Its  sale  was  evidently  a  failure  and  it  was  in  some 
way  turned  over  to  the  Austin  Publishing  Company  and  thus 
associated  with  other  spiritualistic  literature.  It  is  entitled 
"  Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars  or  our  Mission  to  Ento"  The  au- 
thor was  a  Mrs.  Sara  Weiss.  She  was  also  the  author  of 
another  story  of  the  kind:  Story  of  Decimon  Huydas:  A  Ro- 
mance of  the  Planet  Mars."  Mrs.  Weiss  was  a  private  person 


274      Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

who  had  developed  mediumship  of  the  kind  at  least  that  pro- 
duced such  works  as  these  and  saw  that  the  work  obtained 
publication.  The  volume  here  under  consideration  was  pub- 
lished without  any  explanation  of  its  source  or  any  detailed 
account  of  how  it  was  produced.  Readers  would  not  know 
that  it  had  a  mediumistic  cast,  unless  they  were  familiar  with 
work  of  this  kind  in  that  connection.  It  might  be  taken  for 
an  odd  romance  or  piece  of  fiction.  It  is  not  explained  as  a 
mediumistic  production.  Readers  are  left  to  make  out  of  it 
what  they  may,  treating  it  as  real,  if  they  desire,  or  treating 
it  as  fiction,  if  they  desire.  Nothing  is  said  to  distinguish 
its  nature,  though  psychic  researchers  would  at  once  suspect 
what  claims  it  really  had  or  made. 

On  this  account  I  made  inquiries  regarding  the  book  to 
learn  how  it  originated.  I  learned  that  Mrs.  Weiss  had  died 
a  few  years  ago  but  that  Mr.  Weiss  is  still  living.  Com- 
munication with  him  resulted  in  an  explanation  of  the  book 
and  I  deem  it  important  to  put  that  explanation  on  record 
here  for  all  future  students  of  the  literature  on  the  subject. 
It  adds  much  to  the  interest  of  the  book.  It  takes  it  out  of 
the  category  of  merely  imaginary  literature,  imaginary,  I 
mean,  in  the  normal  sense,  and  places  it  among  those  works 
which  have  to  be  studied  in  connection  with  subconscious 
phenomena,  whatever  their  source. 

Mr.  Weiss  is  connected  with  the  United  States  Express 
Company  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.  His  first  reply  to  my  inquiry  was 
as  follows : 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  12/12/'12. 
Mr.  Jas.  H.  Hyslop, 

American  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  the  6th  instant  received.  I  beg  to  say  that  I  am 
gratified  to  find  that  Mrs.  Sara  Weiss'  quite  extraordinary  work, 
or  mission,  should  have  come  to  your  attention. 

Her  book,  "  Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars  ",  if  it  can  be  called 
hers  in  the  commonly  accepted  sense,  -was,  as  she  steadfastly 
maintained  during  the  years  since  it  was  begun,  a  matter  of  in- 
spiration, or  rather  of  dictation.  She  was  merely  the  instrument 
through  which  another  individual  spoke  or  wrote.  I  cannot  en- 


"Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars."  275 

tertain  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  this  statement, 
in  view  of  the  intimate  knowledge  of  my  Dear  Wife,  extending 
over  a  period  of  thirty-four  years. 

A  more  singularly  high-minded  woman  I  never  knew ;  nor  one 
more  modest  and  unassuming.  She  lacked  the  literary  training 
which  is  the  basis  of  most  scientific  books.  She  was,  it  is  true, 
a  woman  of  quite  uncommon  order  of  intellect ;  but  to  the  end  she 
seemed  surprised  and  delighted  at  the  unseen  influences  which 
guided  her  in  her  writing. 

Her  method  was  purely  that  of  submission.  She  did  her  writ- 
ing during  days  when  she  was  quite  alone.  It  was  her  habit  to  sit 
in  a  room  which  she  had  carefully  darkened,  or  from  which  she 
had  excluded  most  of  the  light,  pencil  in  hand,  with  paper  before 
her.  She  did  not  know  at  what  instant  the  actual  tracing  of  let- 
ters and  words  would  begin.  At  one  time,  when  the  "  influence  " 
moved  her,  she  wrote  for  hours.  On  such  occasions  she  worked 
until  a  condition  very  like  exhaustion  overtook  her.  While  she 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  various  phenomena  of  the  spirit 
world,  she  was  not  a  professional  medium,  and  confessed  her  ex- 
traordinary experience  in  full  only  to  her  intimate  friends. 

In  all,  save  one  matter  in  question,  she  was  a  pleasantly  nor- 
mal woman,  fond  of  her  home,  and  of  quiet  entertainments,  and 
of  a  group  of  friends  who  were  by  no  means  exclusively  of  the 
spiritualistic  faith. 

She  was  in  doubt  as  to  the  advisability  of  publishing  her  book, 
which  appeared  only  a  comparatively  short  time  before  she  passed 
awav  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy  years. 

To  her,  in  every  sense,  her  book  was  a  thing  given  or  inspired 
or  dictated.  She  never  referred  to  it  as  her  own,  and  knowing 
her  as  I  did,  I  fully  concurred  in  her  belief  that  she  was  really 
recording  a  message  from  the  spirit  world,  borne  to  her  by  a  proc- 
ess which  was  wholly  outside  the  forces  underlying  normal  au- 
thorship. 

I  would  be  pleased  to  hear  from  you  again. 

Yours  truly, 

A.  M.  WEISS. 

I   made   further   inquiries   regarding  additional   points   of 
interest  and  the  following  is  the  reply  of  Mr.  Weiss. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  12/18/'12. 
Mr.  James  H.  Hyslop, 

American  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Your  letter  of  the  13th  inst.  received,  and  I  hope  to  give  you 
fairly  definite  answers  to  your  several  questions. 


276       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

It  was  often  a  spoken  regret  of  Mrs.  Weiss'  that  she  had  been 
unable  to  receive  an  education  in  her  younger  years. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  an  Ohio  farmer,  who,  with  his  wife, 
was  narrowly  religious.  Her  schooling  was  of  the  most  rudi- 
mentary character,  and  even  reading,  outside  of  church  books, 
was  discouraged. 

During  our  thirty-four  years  of  married  life  I  never  knew  of 
her  having  read  a  book  on  astronomy,  or  of  her  being  especially 
interested  in  the  subject.  She  had  a  longing  to  gaze  at  the  stars, 
and  often  wished  to  know  something  of  the  beautiful  shining 
planets. 

She  read  very  little :  this  was  a  constant  source  of  surprise  to 
those  who  knew  her  and  who  were  impressed  with  her  intellectual 
vigor  and  her  lively  interest  in  conversations. 

I  feel  sure  that  "  Mars  ",  as  a  physical  fact,  did  not  interest 
her,  save  as  it  existed  in  "  Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars." 

She  read  little  or  nothing  after  completing  her  books.  She 
lived  but  a  short  time  afterward.  The  work  had  so  greatly  im- 
paired her  energy  that  she  went  into  a  decline  which  resulted  in 
her  death. 

I  think  I  may  say  quite  frankly  and  definitely  that  her  rela- 
tionship to  the  subject  you  mention  was  not  that  of  the  student 
or  scholar,  but  rather  that  of  a  "  subject ",  or  an  "  instrument ", 
as  she  certainly  considered  herself  to  be. 

It  may  throw  some  light  upon  her  personality  if  I  say  that  a 
favorite  diversion  of  hers,  when  in  the  presence  of  intimate  friends, 
was  to  relate  dreams  which  had  come  to  her.  These  were  em- 
bellished with  beautiful  minuteness  of  detail ;  they  assumed  the 
aspects  of  unearthly  experiences  rather  than  dreams. 

I  have  touched  upon  the  matter  of  her  dreams,  not  because  I 
see  any  relation  between  them  and  her  writings,  but  with  the 
thought  that  possibly  they  may  throw  some  light  for  you  upon  a 
subject  which  I  never  fully  comprehended. 

Very  sincerely, 

A.  M.  WEISS. 

The  limited  education  and  reading  of  Mrs.  Weiss  and  the 
absence  of  especial  interest  in  astronomy  make  her  book 
more  important.  The  interest  in  the  stars  shows  a  bent  in 
that  direction^  though  it  does  not  reveal  any  data  that  might 
explain  the  Martian  messages.  It  is  open  to  suggest  sub- 
liminal dreaming  or  poetising,  but  that  is  a  thing  for  which 
we  have  no  evidence  in  the  case.  The  dreams  directly  con- 
nect the  phenomena  with  other  psychical  processes  so  fre- 
quently associated  with  supernormal  data.  This  does  not 


"Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars."  277 


mean  that  the  dreams  either  explain  the  phenomena  or  af- 
ford a  conjecturable  source  for  them.  They  indicate  a  gen- 
eral matrix  for  them  whether  we  consider  that  supernormal 
or  subliminal.  The  explanation  remains  open. 

I  desired  further  information  on  certain  matters  regard- 
ing the  original  manuscript  and  the  influences  which  gave  rise 
to  the  phenomena  and  the  following  is  quoted  from  another 
letter  of  Mr.  Weiss,  dated  January  6th,  1913 : 

"  I  am,  sorry  to  say  that  I  cannot  tell  you  what  first 
attracted  Mrs.  Weiss'  attention  to  the  subject  of  spiritual- 
ism. She  had  long  been  interested  in  spiritualism  when  I 
first  met  her.  She  was  a  seeker  after  truth  and  her  ex- 
periences in  spiritualism  were  attended  with  a  scepticism 
so  great  that,  not  until  her  own  powers  were  developed  and 
she  was  enabled  to  write  automatically  without  knowing 
what  had  been  written,  did  she  become  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  the  phenomena  of  spirit  control.  After  this  she  be- 
gan the  more  earnest  investigations  which  resulted  in  the 
further  unfoldment  of  her  most  remarkable  psychic  powers. 
At  seances  she  was  most  frequently  visited  by  her  father, 
mother,  sisters  and  brothers,  who  died  many  years  ago. 
Through  the  mediumship  of  others,  she  received  messages 
from  members  of  her  family  and  others.  She  was  quite  con- 
vinced of  the  authenticity  of  the  spirit  who  visited  her. 

"  She  never  gave  any  messages  to  any  living  friends,  save 
in  the  sense  that  she  considered  her  books  such  messages. 
In  the  usual  sense  she  never  undertook  mediumistic  work. 

"  The  original  manuscripts  were  not  preserved.  The  dic- 
tation was  taken  pencil  in  hand,  on  common  paper,  after- 
wards revised  and  rewritten  with  ink  under  the  direction  of 
the  spirit  Carl  De  L'Ester;  these  manuscripts  of  the  'Jour- 
neys '  are,  I  think,  still  in  the  possession  of  her  daughter." 

It  was  not  perfectly  clear  in  one  of  the  letters  from  Mr. 
Weiss  what  he  meant  by  the  destruction  of  the  original 
manuscript  and  I  wrote  to  have  it  made  clear.  His  reply 
was: — 

Feb.  5th,  1913. 

Replying  to  your  letter  of  the  25th  ulto.  I  beg  to  say  that  in 
using  the  word  "  Original  Manuscript  ",  in  a  recent  communica- 


218       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 


tion  I  referred  to  the  first  copy  made  by  Mrs.  Weiss  from  the 
pencil  dictation  of  (Spirit)  Carl  De  L'Ester,  which  was,  of  course, 
the  original  copy. 

The  first  form,  in  pencil,  was  not  considered  by  Mrs.  [Weiss] 
as  being  of  any  value,  her  idea  being,  naturally,  that  the 
message  itself  counted,  and  not  any  peculiarities  which  might  ap- 
pear in  the  form  in  which  it  was  set  down.  The  original  pencil 
version  was  all  but  illegible  to  any  one  besides  Mrs.  Weiss,  and 
when  she  had  completed  the  ink  copy  the  original  version  was 
destroyed.  I  referred  to  the  ink  written  copy  as  the  original 
manuscript  version  and  it  was  from  this  copy  that  she  made  a 
typed  copy  for  the  printers. 

Yours  sincerely, 

A.  M.  WEISS. 


If  there  seem.s  any  confusion  in  the  previous  letters  of 
Mr.  Weiss  this  one  will  make  the  matter  clear.  The  great 
value  of  the  original  pencil  manuscript  would  have  been  for 
its  comparison  with  the  handwriting  of  Mrs.  Weiss  normally 
and  for  comparison  with  the  printed  book  to  ascertain  where 
she  had  used  her  judgment  in  correcting  the  original  either 
in  spelling  or  grammatical  structure.  Original  documents 
in  such  work  are  priceless.  It  is  not  necessary  to  state  all 
the  reasons  for  this.  But  they  will  occur  to  students  of  the 
problem. 

Mr.  Weiss  sent  me  some  of  the  normal  handwriting  of 
Mrs.  Weiss  and  a  poem  written  by  her  automatically,  pur- 
porting to  come  from  her  brother  Robert.  The  automatic 
script  has  the  technical  characteristics  of  her  normal  writing, 
but  the  difference  between  them  is  such  that  you  would  have 
to  examine  them  carefully  to  notice  that  they  were  written 
by  the  same  person.  A  casual  look  at  them  would  not  reveal 
the  same  origin,  tho  an  expert  in  such  things  might  see  the 
resemblance  at  a  glance.  But  the  difference  is  marked  and 
would  be  admitted  by  an  expert  tho  he  found  that  the  im- 
portant characteristics  in  the  letters  showed  or  confirmed 
that  they  had  the  same  origin.  I  give  the  poem  in  a  foot- 
note, as  representing  a  product  above  the  usual  automatic 
poetry  which  is  so  often  so  inferior  as  to  invite  ridicule,  but 
whose  inferiority  in  many  cases  is  evidence  of  the  genuine- 


"Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars."  279 

ness  of  it  as  a  non-normal  product.*     The  "  Sorrowful  Star  " 
is  explained  as  referring  to  the  Earth. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  any  adequate  account  of  the  book's 
contents.  It  must  be  carefully  and  critically  read  by  the 
student  of  psychology,  and  it  does  not  require  to  be  read  with 
any  assumptions  of  its  origin  in  spirit.  The  reader  may  not 
go  beyond  reading  it  as  a  psychological  production  of  the 
subliminal.  All  that  he  requires  to  keep  in  mind  is  that  it 
is  an  automatic  production,  but  he  must  be  familiar  with 
psychic  research  and  its  vast  data  of  similar  phenomena. 
Whether  the  book  is  really  a  communication  about  the  planet 
Mars  no  one  can  prove,  no  matter  what  he  believes.  But 
he  can  study  it  as  a  work  of  psychological  interest  and  it 
will  abundantly  repay  study  from  that  point  of  view.  The 


*  Oh  listen,  my  soul !     A  soft  echo  comes  ringing 

From  the  far  away  shores,  from  the  homes  of  the  blest, 
And  ever  glad  voices  are  singing,  are  singing. 
"  In  the  bright  Spirit  land  there  is  rest ;  There  is  rest" 

Hark!    Again  and  again.     The  soft  echo  comes  ringing 

Adown  toward  the  Earth,  from  the  far  spirit  spheres. 
From  the  homes  where  our  loved  ones  are  singing,  are  singing. 
"As  we  sowed,  we  have  reaped,  in  sorrow  and  tears." 

Still  again  and  again  the  sweet  echo  comes  ringing; 

It  falls  toward  the  Earth  like  the  soft  dropping  rain. 
And!  the  far  away  voices  are  singing,  are  singing. 
"  We  garnered  our  sheaves  in  sorrow  and  pain." 

Ah  listen,  the  echo  is  ringing,  still  ringing. 

I  catch  the  faint  sound  as  it  falls  from  afar, 
And  still  the  sweet  voices  are  singing,  are  singing. 
"  We  have  sowed.     We  have  reaped,  on  the  Sorrowful  Star." 

Now  rising,  now  falling;  the  echo  comes  ringing. 
"  We  have  sowed.     We  have  reaped,  and  we  sorrow  no  more. 
And  ever  glad  anthems  of  joy  are  we  singing, 
In  our  beautiful  homes,  on  the  far  shining  shore." 

I  listen  in  silence.     No  echo  comes  ringing. 

The  voices  of  loved  ones,  I  hear  them  no  more. 
But  I  know  their  glad  voices  are  singing,  are  singing, 

As  they  wave  their  dear  hands,  from  the  far  shining  shore. 

Oh  listen,  my  soul!     Is  the  echo  still  ringing? 

Hear  you  not  a  faint  note  falling  down  from  afar? 
Ah  no !     'Tis  the  wind  that  is  sighing  and  singing. 

And  I  am  alone  on  the  Sorrowful  Star. 


280       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

spiritist  who  accepts  its  alleged  source  and  contents  will  have 
to  do  so  without  the  proof  that  is  required  for  these.  It  is, 
of  course,  quite  possible  that  it  is  spiritistic,  but  the  con- 
cession does  not  imply  that  the  contents  represent  the  reality 
we  are  accustomed  to  assign  to  narratives  of  the  kind.  It 
may  be  a  romance  in  spite  of  its  spiritistic  source,  if  that  be 
tolerated.  We  do  not  know  enough  as  yet  of  a  spiritual  ex- 
istence to  interpret  messages  about  such  a  world  as  being 
realistic  in  the  sense  we  attach  to  such  stories.  If  the  spirit- 
ual world  be  a  mental  one,  as  it  is  natural  to  suppose,  ideal- 
ism may  be  the  point  of  view  from  which  its  messages  have 
to  be  judged,  and  that  would  make  it  a  rationalized  dream 
life  in  which  narratives  would  be  true  for  the  minds  that 
make  them,  but  not  representative  of  any  objective  reality,  as 
we  have  to  represent  sensory  experience.  Each  individual 
makes  his  own  world,  so  to  speak.  The  ideas  communicated 
may  contain  an  element  of  objectivity,  but  the  subjective  may 
predominate  to  such  an  extent  as  to  conceal  the  objective  and 
give  rise  to  interpretations  in  our  experience  that  would  be 
wholly  misleading. 

This  will  appear  a  very  extravagant  view  of  the  case,  but 
I  am  not  contending  that  it  is  true.  I  am  using  its  bare 
possibility  as  a  foil  to  the  realistic  interpretation  which  as- 
sumes what  we  do  not  know  about  a  transcendental  exist- 
ence, and  if  by  chance  such  a  world  was  a  rationalized  dream 
life  the  whole  meaning  of  such  books  as  this  would  be  al- 
tered for  the  scientific  man  and  he  would  find  himself  in  the 
face  of  something  to  be  tolerantly  studied  instead  of  ridi- 
culed. The  evidence  that  the  book  requires  this  sort  of 
tolerance  is  not  in  itself,  but  in  the  multitudes  of  similar  pro- 
ductions, whether  they  concern  planetary  or  other  matters. 
They  show  common  characteristics  tho  having  independent 
origins,  and  they  manifest  marked  coincidences  in  contents 
with  what  comes  through  psychics  that  have  been  tested 
for  the  supernormal.  The  fact  alone  requires  that  the  stu- 
dent at  least  should  pause.  He  will  be  right  in  his  scepticism 
or  at  least  in  assuming  a  critical  attitude  regarding  such 
works.  That  attitude  protects  him  against  the  interpre- 
tation which  the  story  superficially  suggests.  But  if  a  man 


"Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars."  281 

stops  there  he  is  likely  to  be  as  badly  deceived,  if  he  ridicules 
it,  as  he  would  be  if  he  accepted  it  unequivocally.  There  is 
simply  a  problem  here  to  understand  such  productions.  It 
is  not  enough  to  go  vaporing  about  in  talk  about  subcon- 
scious fabrications  and  subliminal  dreamery.  All  that  is  a 
subterfuge  for  ignorance.  We  know  very  little  about  the 
subconscious  as  yet.  It  may  be  a  product  of  such  action.  I 
do  not  know.  But  if  I  tolerate  that  hypothesis  it  is  my  duty 
to  show  the  evidence,  and  we  would  undoubtedly  find  evi- 
dence of  at  least  subconscious  coloring,  as  we  perhaps  do  in 
all  mediumistic  productions.  But  the  proof  of  that  influence 
is  not  proof  that  the  whole  thing  in  cast  and  conception  is  a 
subconscious  invention.  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  the 
general  stimulus  should  be  foreign  and  the  form  and  con- 
tent a  subconscious  cast.  That,  too,  remains  to  be  proved. 
But  we  have  here  a  field  which  cannot  be  dismissed  from 
investigation  with  a  sneer  based  upon  physiological  meta- 
physics quite  as. fanciful  as  any  alleged  communications  from 
Mars. 

I  can  give  only  a  brief  account  of  what  the  book  is.  Mrs. 
Weiss  at  no  time  seems  to  have  been  in  a  trance.  The  auto- 
matic writing  was  done  in  her  normal  state,  her  normal 
mind  not  knowing  what  the  hand  wrote  until  it  had  been 
written.  The  chief  communicating  spirit,  so-called,  was  one 
who  called  himself  Carl  De  L/Ester.  In  the  course  of  the 
work  other  personalities  appeared  as  giving  information, 
some  of  them  well  known  historical  characters,  such  as  Von 
Humboldt,  Agassiz  and  others.  A  whole  vocabulary  was 
adopted  to  represent  the  names  of  the  planet  Mars,  animals, 
plants  and  human  beings  upon  it.  There  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  a  language  invented  or  employed,  as  in  the  case 
of  Mile.  Helene  Smith  studied  by  Professor  Flournoy. 
There  were  only  individual  terms  used  to  express  the  names 
of  things,  and  then  special  terms  for  numbers  and  the  per- 
sonal pronouns.  The  last  were  the  only  indications  of  a  Mar- 
tian language.  The  terms  are  given  in  a  Glossary  at  the 
end  of  the  book.  Some  of  the  letters  did  not  have  the  same 
pronunciation  that  they  would  have  in  the  same  situations 
in  our  language.  For  instance  E  sometimes  had  the  sound 


282       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 


of  A  in  our  language.     But  this  alteration  was  confined  to 
only  two  letters,  A  and  H. 

Ento  was  the  name  of  the  planet  Mars;  Andumana  is  the 
name  of  the  Supreme  One,  the  Creator  of  all  things;  As- 
tranola,  the  name  of  the  "Realm  of  the  Deific  ones;"  An- 
adillo  Pylo,  the  name  of  a  scaly  armored  amphibian;  Cryfimo, 
of  the  ocean;  Elipso,  of  the  year;  Emano,  of  a  friend,  mascu- 
line; and  Emana,  of  a  friend,  feminine.  These  suffice  for  il- 
lustration and  perhaps  suggestion  as  to  possible  origin.  The 
Glossary  gives  several  hundreds  of  these  words.  But  I  give 
those  for  numbers  and  the  pronouns,  as  showing  the  most  dis- 
tinct evidence  of  system  in  their  formation. 

Numbers. 

Fon — i.  Muen — 6.  Yodis — n.  Voda — 50. 

Itu — 2.  Of  en — 7.  Fonitu — 12.  Muena— 60. 

Meos — 3.  Zu — 8.  Ita — 20.  Ofena — 70. 

Len — 4.  Tevon — 9.  Meosa — 30.  Zua— 80. 

Vodu — 5.  Ruya — 10.  Lena — 40.  Tevona — 90. 

Ryzo — 100. 

Pronouns. 

Efon— I.  Nofan— Thou.  Tofan— He.  Tsya— They. 

Onos— We.  Noifan— Thee.  Toifan— She.  Esto— Ye. 

Ufan— You.  Neffan— Thy.  Ista— It. 

Those  familiar  with  the  fact  that  Flournoy's  case  formed 
the  Martian  language  after  the  fundamental  grammatical 
structure  of  the  French  which  Mile.  Helene  Smith  spoke 
naturally  will  raise  the  question  here  whether  the  formation 
of  the  above  Martian  terms  may  not  have  been  influenced 
by  English  habits  of  mind.  But  they  will  not  find  this  dis- 
tinctly proved.  It  is  true  that  the  general  idea  of  numbers 
and  pronouns  like  our  own,  especially  in  the  pronouns,  will 
be  a  dubious  fact.  It  is  not  universal  in  the  languages  of 
terrestrial  people  and  that  Martians  should  duplicate  those 
of  the  English  language  throughout  is  a  fact  that  suggests  the 
influence  of  normal  habits  on  the  invention  of  them.  It  is 
equally  noticeable  also  that  the  notation  is  decimal  which 
corresponds  with  ours.  Of  course  this  is  not  a  fatal  objec- 
tion, but  it  awakens  inquiry,  and  from  what  we  know  of 
subliminal  action  we  should  have  to  concede  that  influence 


"Journeys  to  the  Planet  Mars."  283 

in  these  terms,  even  tho  we  were  convinced  that  the  phe- 
nomena had  a  spiritistic  origin.  The  subconscious  is  the  me- 
dium of  its  expression  and  it  can  no  more  escape  coloring 
transcendental  influences  than  red  glass  can  avoid  coloring 
light.  Compare  "  Elipso  "  for  "  year  ". 

The  volume  entitled  "  Decimon  Huydas  "  is  a  romance  of 
the  planet  Mars.  Mrs.  Weiss  did  not  place  so  much  value 
upon  it  as  she  did  upon  the  Journeys.  It  purports  to  be  ro- 
mance while  the  Journeys  claims  to  be  science,  so  to  speak. 
The  romance*  is  serious  and  poetic  in  character  tho  written 
in  prose.  It  has  its  psychological  interest  as  a  subconscious 
production,  but  this  is  perhaps  not  so  anomalous  as  the  pur- 
ported nature  of  the  planet  Mars  and  its  inhabitants. 

It  is  impossible  at  this  time  to  pronounce  any  final  judg- 
ment on  such  works.  The  time  has  not  yet  come  to  esti- 
mate their  meaning.  If  we  had  any  criterion  for  distinguish- 
ing between  foreign  and  subjective  influences  in  the  result 
we  might  venture  upon  an  estimate.  But  we  have  no  such 
standards  as  yet.  We  have  only  a  clear  idea  in  normal  ex- 
perience and  memory  of  what  comes  from  sensation  and  we 
have  a  clear  idea  of  the  supernormal  when  (1)  information 
that  has  not  been  known  normally  by  the  subject  comes 
through  the  subliminal  and  (2)  when  it  cannot  be  due  to 
guessing  and  chance  coincidence.  Beyond  that  there  is  the 
wide  territory  which  has  either  not  been  adequately  explored 
or  offers  such  an  admixture  of  foreign  and  domestic  material 
that  we  cannot  as  yet  discriminate  them.  In  that  situation 
we  must  leave  such  works  at  present. 


284      Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES. 
By  Major  Cicero  Newell. 

Spiritualism,  as  generally  understood  by  the  public, 
means :  Fortune  telling.  How  to  make  love  matches.  The 
laws  of  affinity.  Calling  up  ghosts  and  spooks  "from  the  land 
of  the  shades.  Taking  spirit  pictures.  Trumpet  seances  in 
dark  rooms.  Materialization  of  dead  people  in  dark  places. 
Producing  raps  and  table  tipping.  Giving  people  tips  where 
they  can  make  a  fortune  in  a  gold  mine.  And  much  more 
information  of  like  nature.  So  much  fraud  and  humbug  has 
been  practiced  by  people  that  have  advertised  themselves  as 
spiritual  mediums  and  Reverends  and  D.  D's.  that  honest 
investigators  are  doing  all  they  can  to  expose  the  frauds  that 
are  preying  on  the  good  natures  of  the  weak  and  unsophisti- 
cated. 

Behind  all  of  this  fraud  and  chicanery,  there  is  a  grand 
underlying  truth.  Those  of  us  that  have  dared  to  face  the 
storm  of  ridicule  that  the  ignorant  have  heaped  on  our  heads, 
have,  in  the  words  of  the  celebrated  ancient  said,  "  Eureka, 
I  have  found  it." 

In  the  year  1848  when  the  spiritualistic  wave  swept  over 
the  land  from  the  little  home  in  Hydesville,  New  York 
State,  my  father's  family,  like  many  other  Christian  families, 
were  swept  away  with  it. 

My  Mother  proved  to  be  what  they  called  a  table-tipping 
and  rapping  medium.  Tables  were  lifted  from  the  floor  with- 
out the  aid  of  human  hands,  furniture  moved,  musical  instru- 
ments played  on,  and  many  other  things  of  like  nature.  As 
a  boy  of  eight  years,  I  heard  the  neighbors  say  it  was  ghosts 
that  did  it.  Six  years  later,  my  mother  left  us  for  the  higher 
life.  Even  after  she  left,  they  often  came  and  communicated 
with  us  by  means  of  a  set  of  A  B  C  blocks  that  I  had. 

When  President  Lincoln  called  for  Volunteers  in  April, 
1861,  I  went  with  the  boys  of  our  town  to  answer  the  first 


Personal  Experiences.  285 


call.  When  I  left  home,  these  manifestations  followed  me 
into  the  army.  When  our  army  was  retreating  from  the  first 
bloody  battle  of  Bull  Run,  I  heard  the  voice  of  my  mother 
saying  to  me,  "  Cicero,  leave  the  road,  and  go  into  the  field 
to  the  left."  My  comrade  and  I  had  hardly  got  over  the 
fence  and  entered  the  field,  before  we  heard  the  shriek  of 
bursting  shells,  and  saw  our  comrades  running  in  every 
direction,  many  were  killed,  others  left  on  the  road  mangled 
beyond  recognition,  every  one  trying  to  get  out  of  the  way 
of  the  shot  and  shell  that  was  raining  upon  them.  Had  I  not 
heeded  the  warning,  I  too  might  have  been  among  the  dead 
or  wounded.  In  the  fall  of  1862  while  on  duty  at  the  Head- 
quarters of  General  Grant  with  my  Company  of  Cavalry,  I 
was  constantly  cautioned  and  guided  by  my  mother  and  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Pierre  Thomas.  This  man,  Pierre 
Thomas,  was  my  step-mother's  father.  During  his  life 
on  earth,  he  was  in  the  French  army  and  served  under 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  in  Egypt  and  on  the  continent.  He 
was  a  Captain  of  Cavalry.  When  captured  by  the  English, 
he  escaped  and  made  his  way  to  America,  where  he  ob- 
tained a  place  as  teacher  at  West  Point  Military  Acad- 
emy. There  he  taught  fencing  and  dancing.  All  during 
my  military  career  in  the  Civil  war,  he  was  my  right  hand 
man.  He  guided  me  in  every  move  of  importance  that 
I  made.  Being  an  expert  swordsman,  he  insisted  that  I  too 
should  become  an  expert.  I  was  detailed  to  teach  the  of- 
ficers' school  in  sword  exercise. 

At  the  time  that  I  speak  of,  General  Grant  was  at  La- 
Grange,  Tenn.,  and  General  Sherman  was  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
sixty  miles  to  the  west  of  us.  General  Grant  was  very  much 
disturbed  that  General  Forest  had  got  in  between  their  ar- 
mies and  cut  off  all  communications  between  them.  He 
tried  for  several  days  to  get  communications  opened,  finally 
he  sent  out  a  large  force  of  Infantry,  Artillery,  and  Cavalry, 
to  drive  Forest  out  of  the  country,  and  I  was  given  the  des- 
patches that  were  to  be  sent  to  General  Sherman,  and  or- 
dered to  follow  this  command  through  to  Memphis.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  expression  that  I  noticed  on  General  Grant's 
face  when  he  handed  me  the  despatch.  After  handing  it  to 


286       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

me,  he  took  it  back,  tore  the  envelope  open,  asked  me  to  read 
it  over  carefully.  After  I  read  it  once,  he  said,  "  Read  it 
again,  as  I  want  you  to  thoroughly  understand  every  word 
of  it.  If  you  are  in  danger  of  capture  by  the  enemy,  destroy 
this  letter,  but  if  you  get  through  later,  tell  General  Sherman 
what  I  have  written  there."  He  seemed  to  have  a  premoni- 
tion that  I  would  have  trouble  before  I  got  through  to  Gen- 
eral Sherman.  Then  he  took  the  letter,  sealed  it,  and  said, 
"  Captain,  try  to  get  that  through."  How  we  got  through, 
is  better  described  by  the  Official  Report  of  the  Adjt.  General 
of  the  State  of  Michigan  in  the  report  of  Michigan  in  the 
war. 

On  pages  631,  632  and  633,  we  find  in  the  Official  Report 
of  General  John  K.  Mizner,  Chief  of  Cavalry,  the  following: 

In  November,  1862,  communications  between  General  Grant, 
at  La  Grange,  and  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
were  cut  off  by  destroying  telegraph  lines  and  railroad  track. 
Battalions  and  regiments  of  cavalry  try  in  vain  to  open  them.  A 
brigade  of  infantry  with  a  battery  of  light  artillery  and  a  regiment 
of  cavalry  are  sent  out  to  open  the  way,  and  Captain  Newell's 
company,  K,  3d  Michigan  Cavalry  (the  White  Horse  Squadron), 
is  selected  to  bear  the  despatches.  The  best  men  and  horses  are 
selected.  General  Grant  delivers  Newell  the  papers  for  General 
Sherman,  saying,  "  Get  them  through."  The  company  leaves 
near  dark,  and  about  three  miles  out  meet  the  entire  command 
sent  out  in  the  morning  returning.  It  had  been  fighting  a  heavy 
force  of  cavalry  and  artillery  all  day,  and  decided  to  retire  within 
the  Union  lines  during  the  night.  Newell  keeps  on  in  the  dark- 
ness of  night  to  Moscow.  He  directs  Lieutenant  Mclntyre  to 
wear  a  Confederate  uniform ;  he  enters  the  town ;  the  enemy  has 
fallen  back  across  Wolf  river.  The  company  advances  to  the 
bridge ;  a  reconnoissance  is  made  across  the  river ;  the  rebels  are 
encamped  at  points  along  the  road,  through  to  Memphis ;  a  large 
force  near  by ;  a  circuit  of  seventeen  miles  is  made  and  the  road  is 
again  reached  at  daylight,  near  Sommerville ;  Newell  finds  the 
way  to  Memphis  guarded  at  several  points  by  large  detachments 
•of  cavalry ;  but  General  Grant  said  the  despatches  must  .  go 
through,  so  the  way  must  be  cut  by  the  sword  or  abandoned.  On 
they  dash,  attacking  and  capturing  pickets  and  picket-posts,  driv- 
ing videttes  in  every  direction.  They  come  upon  a  whole  rebel 
regiment,  take  their  guard,  and  dash  on,  passing,  fighting,  and 
disarming  pickets.  Reach  Wolf  river ;  find  a  rebel  brigade  burn- 


Personal  Experiences.  287 


ing  the  bridge ;  further  progress  cut  off ;  the  rebel  force  within 
pistol  shot ;  Newell's  command  plunge  into  the  river ;  they  are 
taken  for  Confederates  and  are  not  fired  on ;  they  reach  the  oppo- 
site bank  and  push  on,  and  are  at  Sherman's  picket  line  at  the 
firing  of  the  evening  gun.  They  are  soon  at  headquarters,  and 
the  despatches  safely  delivered,  amid  the  hearty  congratulations 
of  the  general  and  the  surprise  of  the  whole  army.  After  a  rest 
of  two  days  the  company  returns  to  La  Grange  with  General 
Grierson's  Illinois  Cavalry  Regiment  as  an  escort. 

Captain  Newell  receives  a  complimentary  letter  from  General 
Sherman,  as  follows : 

HEADQUARTERS  DISTRICT  OF  MEMPHIS, 
Memphis,  Nov.  28,  1862. 
Capt.  Newell,  $d  Michigan  Cavalry,  Present: 

SIR: — I  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  despatches  of  General  Grant  en- 
trusted to  your  hands,  dated  La  Grange,  November  6th,  and  to  compliment  you 
for  the  intelligence,  energy,  and  skill  displayed  by  you  in  coming  so  long  a 
distance  through  hostile  bands. 

I  send  you  herewith  my  despatches  in  reply,  which  I  wish  you  to  carry  to 
General  Grant  at  La  Grange  or  wherever  he  may  be. 

Colonel  Grierson,  6th  Illinois  Cavalry,  will,  at  3  P.  M.,  be  ready  to  accom- 
pany you  all  or  part  of  the  way  according  to  circumstances. 

I  am,  with  respect,  your  ob'dt  serv't, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 
Major  General  Commanding. 

From  the  time  I  left  the  Headquarters  of  General  Grant 
until  I  returned,  my  French  Captain  was  constantly  by  my 
side,  guiding  me  in  every  movement  that  I  made.  Only  by 
his  good  counsel  and  guidance,  I  feel  that  I  never  should  have 
accomplished  the  mission  that  I  was  sent  to  carry  through. 
On  my  return,  General  Grant  thanked  me  for  the  service 
and  seemed  to  feel  quite  relieved  that  communications  had 
been  opened  up  between  the  two  armies. 

The  only  way  I  have  to  give  positive  assurance  that  the 
so-called  dead  can  talk  with  mortal  man,  is  to  give  personal 
experience.  Our  courts  do  not  admit  of  hearsay  evidence. 

I  wish  to  speak  of  one  more  incident  in  my  life,  where  I 
had  positive  knowledge  that  the  so-called  dead  saved  me  from 
having  my  leg  amputated,  and  perhaps  saved  my  life. 

In  the  month  of  February,  in  the  year  1863,  our  Cavalry 
lay  in  camp  at  Jackson,  in  West  Tennessee.  I  was  ordered 
by  Col.  John  K.  Mizner,  who  was  Chief  of  Cavalry  for  the 
army  at  that  time,  to  take  a  Battalion  of  Cavalry  and  scout 
the  country  as  far  as  the  Tennessee  River,  some  sixty  miles 


288       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

to  the  east.  As  I  expected  to  come  in  contact  with  the 
trained  cavalry  of  General  Forest,  I  wished  to  proceed  with 
much  caution.  The  Colonel  cautioned  me  very  carefully  not 
to  get  into  a  fight,  only  to  find  out  what  I  could  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy.  He  thought  it  not  necessary  even  to 
send  a  surgeon  along. 

I  had  no  more  than  got  started  on  my  trip,  before  I  felt 
the  presence  of  my  French  Captain.  I  knew  he  would  not 
accompany  me,  unless  there  was  some  sharp  work  to  do. 
As  the  sequel  will  show,  it  was  well  that  he  was  there  to 
guide  and  give  me  assistance. 

I  will  quote  from  the  Report  of  the  Adjutant  General  of 
Michigan,  as  it  gives  a  better  idea  of  the  expedition  than  I 
can  write. 


regiment  Was  also  engaged  at  Brownsville, 
Miss.,  January  14th,  1863,  and  Clifton  on  the  20th.  Captain 
Newell,  with  Companies  A,  K  and  L,  3d  Michigan  Cavalry,  and  a 
company  of  Tennessee  scouts,  while  scouting  along  the  Tennessee 
river  east  of  Lexington  and  near  Clifton,  discovered  an  old  sunken 
boat,  and  having  knowledge  that  the  noted  Colonel  Newsum, 
with  some  ninety  of  his  followers  were  at  their  old  haunt  (Clif- 
ton) on  the  opposite  bank,  conceived  the  plan  of  crossing  the  river 
under  cover  of  the  night  and  attempting  their  capture. 

HEADQUARTERS  CHIEF  OF  CAVALRY, 
GENERAL  ORDERS  Jackson,  Tenn.,  Feb.  22,  1863. 

No.  8. 

It  is  with  a  mingled  feeling  of  pride  and  pleasure  that  the  Colonel  com- 
manding announces  to  the  cavalry  of  this  district  the  splendid  achievement  of 
the  3d  Michigan  Cavalry,  under  Captain  Cicero  Newell.  On  the  morning  of 
the  2Oth,  inst,  while  scouting  in  the  country  along  the  Tennessee  river,  east  of 
Lexington,  and  about  twelve  miles  above  Clifton  he  discovered  an  old  sunken 
flat  boat,  and  having  previous  knowledge  of  the  presence  of  the  noted  Colonel 
Newsum  and  some  ninety  of  his  followers  at  their  old  haunt,  Clifton,  on  the 
opposite  bank,  he  immediately  conceived  the  plan  of  crossing  the  river  under 
cover  of  the  night  and  attempting  their  capture.  Foiling  all  suspicion  of  the 
inhabitants  by  starting  off  with  his  entire  command  for  Lexington,  he  then 
turned  into  the  woods  and  concealed  his  force  until  nightfall,  when  he  has- 
tened to  a  point  on  the  river  four  miles  above  the  fated  town,  where  he  found 
the  flat  boat  safely  moored  in  charge  of  Sergeant  Vowels,  of  Company  K,  and 
six  men,  who  had  bailed  out  the  boat,  manned  it  with  a  pair  of  rude  oars,  and 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night  had  floated  cautiously  eight  miles  down  the  river 
to  this  point.  Finding  the  flat  boat  incapable  of  freighting  the  entire  party  and 
there  being  no  time  for  a  second  trip,  sixty  men  were  selected  and  embarked 
on  their  hazardous  voyage.  Gaining  the  opposite  bank  two  miles  below,  they 
found,  after  a  wearisome  reconnoissance,  that  they  were  entirely  cut  off  from 
the  main  land  by  an  extensive  bayou  ;  yet,  nothing  daunted  they  re-embarked 


Personal  Experiences.  289 


and  landed  again  quite  near  the  town,  which  they  immediately  surrounded,  and 
dashed  in  upon  the  astonished;  half-awake,  half-clad  enemy,  and  secured  the 
entire  party,  consisting  of  one  colonel,  three  captains,  four  lieutenants,  and 
sixty-one  enlisted  men,  with  their  horses,  arms  and  equipments  complete,  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  single  man.  But  we  have  to  regret  an  accident  to  the  brave 
commander,  Captain  Newell,  who  received  a  serious  but  not  dangerous  wound. 
Capt.  F.  C.  Adamson,  of  the  3d  Michigan  Cavalry,  then  assumed  command  and 
safely  re-crossed  the  Tennessee  river  with  all  his  prisoners  and  captured  prop- 
erty. He,  with  all  the  officers  and  men  of  this  heroic  band,  deserve  the  highest 
praise  for  their  cheerful  and  hearty  seconding  of  this  happily  conceived  expedi- 
tion. While  we  admire  and  applaud  this  noble  achievement  of  Captian  Newell 
and  his  little  party,  let  us  learn  to  emulate  them,  and,  inspired  with  the  love 
of  the  noble  and  brave,  and  this  example  before  us,  let  us  take  courage  and 
press  this  civil  strife  with  redoubled  energy. 

By  order  of  J.  K.  MIZNER, 

THOMAS  B.  WIER,  Colonel  and  Chief  of  Cavalry. 

Lieut,  and  Act'g  Ass't  Adj't  Gcn'l. 

While  the  report  of  the  Chief  of  Cavalry  gives  me  much 
credit  for  the  part  I  took  in  the  engagement  with  the  enemy, 
I  feel  that  it  was  all  due  to  the  guidance  I  had  from  the 
French  Captain,  and  the  kindly  advice  of  my  angel  mother. 
As  I  was  standing  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tennessee  River, 
waiting  for  the  wind  to  go  down,  so  I  could  venture  out  on 
the  river  with  the  old  scow  that  was  to  bear  my  men  across 
the  river,  I  heard  the  voice  of  my  mother  saying,  "  Cicero, 
you  will  be  shot  in  your  left  knee  to-morrow  morning."  It 
was  so  plain,  that  I  turned  to  see  who  spoke.  It  was  moon- 
light, but  no  one  was  near  me.  My  men  were  quietly  resting 
on  the  bank,  awaiting  orders.  I  fully  realized  that  my 
mother  was  giving  me  a  timely  warning.  I  was  satisfied  that 
she  saw  that  I  was  getting  into  trouble  that  might  cost  me 
much  annoyance.  So  far  in  my  life,  my  mother  had  never 
deceived  me.  She  had  never  told  me  a  falsehood.  Why 
should  she  now?  I  knew  that  her  word's  would  come 
true.  When  I  stopped  to  think  over  my  orders,  I  was 
to  scout  as  far  east  as  the  Tennessee  River.  Here  I 
was  planning  to  go  beyond  the  river.  I  was  going  be- 
yond where  I  had  orders  to  go.  Should  I  fail  in  my  ex- 
pedition, should  I  be  repulsed,  should  I  lose  some  of  my 
officers  or  men,  the  whole  blame  would  come  on  me.  I  might 
be  dismissed  from  the  service  for  disobedience  of  orders,  I 
had  been  told  that  day  by  a  conscript  that  had  escaped  from 
the  enemy's  camp  the  day  before,  that  the  enemy  were  ex- 


290      Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

pecting  reinforcements,  that  a  full  regiment  of  cavalry  were 
expected  there  that  day.  Perhaps  they  were  there  now,  and 
my  mother  was  giving  me  the  warning  to  save  me  from 
disaster.  "  What  shall  I  do?  "  I  could  hear  the  promptings 
of  my  French  Captain,  urging  me  to  make  the  attack.  My 
own  judgment  and  reason  said  go  slow.  While  deliberating 
as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue,  the  voice  of  my  mother  came 
again.  As  I  listened,  I  heard  these  words, — "  Never  mind 
Cicero,  the  wound  will  not  be  serious,  you  will  go  home  and 
have  a  good  time."  Surely  I  was  agoing  to  be  victorious  in 
my  fight  with  the  enemy,  because,  if  I  were  to  lose  the  battle, 
we  should  either  be  killed  or  taken  prisoners,  then  I  could 
not  go  home.  No,  that  last  message  meant  for  me  to  go 
ahead.  And  go  we  did.  I  immediately  ordered  the  men 
into  the  boat,  and  started  across  the  river.  It  took  us  until 
nearly  daylight  before  we  got  into  position  to  make  the  at- 
tack. My  men,  knowing  that  they  had  superior  numbers 
to  meet,  did  their  duty  in  a  quick  and  very  satisfactory  man- 
ner to  me.  But  the  predictions  of  my  angel  mother  had  come 
true.  I  had  been  shot  in  my  left  knee  as  she  said  I  would. 

But  how  was  the  second  part  of  her  prediction  to  come 
true?  The  wound  would  not  be  serious,  and  I  was  to  go 
home  and  have  a  nice  time.  To  get  a  furlough  to  go  home 
at  that  time,  was  a  very  hard  thing  to  accomplish.  Fur- 
loughs were  a  hard  thing  to  get.  Away  from  home  as  we 
were,  a  boy  could  not  but  think  how  he  would  like  to  get 
home  where  mother  could  care  for  him.  As  soon  as  the 
prisoners  were  secured,  and  the  horses  and  other  captured 
property  listed,  I  took  the  wounded  and  crossed  to  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  where  the  men  were  that  I  left  behind. 

I  instructed  Captain  A  dam  son-  of  my  command,  to  get 
the  prisoners  and  captured  property  to  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  as  soon  as  he  could,  as  he  was  liable  to  be  attacked  at  any 
moment.  Soon  after  I  got  across  the  river  with  the  wounded 
men,  Sergeant  Cutting,  one  of  my  most  trusted  sergeants, 
came  running  into  the  house  that  we  had  secured  for  the  care 
of  the  wounded,  informing  me  that  his  men  had  reported  five 
steamers  coming  up  the  river,  that  they  were  about  one  mile 
away.  As  the  enemy  had  boats  on  the  river,  he  did  not  know 


Personal  Experiences.  291 


whether  they  were  friends  or  enemies.  Soon  he  came  back 
saying-  he  could  see  the  stars  and  stripes  floating  at  the  mast- 
head. My  mind  was  very  much  relieved,  as  my  men  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  river,  that  were  guarding  prisoners  and 
caring  for  captured  property,  would  have  little  chance  of  get- 
ting back  to  the  west  bank  of  the  river  if  the  enemy  came  up 
with  reinforcements.  As  soon  as  they  steamed  up  opposite 
our  place,  Sergeant  Cutting  signaled  them  to  come  ashore. 
As  soon  as  the  fleet  effected  a  landing,  several  officers  came 
ashore.  Among  them  were  the  surgeons  of  the  fleet.  They 
examined  my  wound  carefully,  and  very  politely  informed  me 
that  my  leg  would  have  to  come  off  just  above  the  knee,  that 
the  wound  was  a  very  bad  one.  Then  I  remembered  that 
my  mother  had  told  me  the  night  before  that  the  wound 
would  not  be  serious,  and  that  I  would  go  home  and  have  a 
good  time.  "  Surely,  my  mother  has  made  a  mistake.  If 
my  leg  must  come  off  to  save  my  life,  I  have  a  most  danger- 
ous wound."  So  far  in  my  experience  my  angel  guides  had 
made  no  mistakes.  "  Now,  shall  I  trust  my  life  in  the  hands 
of  five  experienced  surgeons,  or  shall  I  rely  on  the  words  of 
my  mother?  "  As  I  lay  there  on  the  bed,  I  thought  it  over. 
"  No,  "  I  said  to  myself,  "  my  angel  guides  have  made  no  mis- 
takes in  the  past,  I  will  trust  to  their  counsel  and  advice."  I 
then  told  the  surgeons  that  I  had  decided  to  take  my  chances, 
and  let  the  leg  remain  on;  that  when  that  leg  was  buried,  my 
head  would  be  buried  with  it.  They  then  withdrew,  and 
cared  for  the  wounded  confederates  that  were  in  the  room. 
As  they  withdrew,  another  officer,  that  had  been  talking  to 
the  confederates,  came  up  and  asked  me  where  my  camp  was, 
how  far  away  it  was,  and  how  I  expected  to  get  back  to  it 
in  my  wounded  condition.  He  told  me  not  to  undertake  the 
trip  in  the  condition  I  was,  but  to  come  on  board  of  his  boat, 
and  he  would  see  that  I  had  medical  care  and  attendance.  I 
accepted  the  offer  of  this  officer.  Soon  a  detail  of  sailors 
appeared  and  carried  me  on  board  the  steamer  Fair  Play, 
which  proved  to  be  the  flag-ship  of  the  squadron.  The  of- 
ficer who  had  come  to  my  assistance  was  Commodore  Leroy 
Fitch,  the  commander  of  the  fleet.  He  kindly  volunteered  to 
send  one  of  his  gunboats  over  and  get  the  prisoners  and 


292       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

captured  property.  He  likewise  took  the  prisoners  off  of  our 
hands,  saving  my  men  the  trouble  of  guarding  them  back  to 
our  camp.  The  fleet  then  proceeded  on  up  the  river  as  far 
as  Mussel  Shoals,  then  turned  back  to  the  Ohio  River.  As 
soon  as  the  surgeons  said  I  could  be  removed,  the  Commo- 
dore signaled  the  river  Packet  that  ran  from  Cairo  to  Evans- 
ville  to  come  alongside  and  take  me  off.  Soon  I  was  landed 
in  Evansville,  Ind.  and  on  a  train  speeding  for  my  home  in 
Michigan.  Here  I  was  m.et  by  the  girl  that  had  promised 
to  marry  me  as  soon  as  the  war  was  over.  We  decided  that 
we  might  as  well  get  married  then,  as  to  wait  until  the  war 
was  over.  She  wanted  to  show  her  love  and  respect  for  me, 
by  caring  for  me  while  I  was  suffering  from  my  wound.  We 
were  married.  I  remained  at  home  until  I  was  able  to  again 
mount  a  horse  and  assume  my  duties.  The  full  prediction  of 
my  angel  mother  had  come  true.  I  was  wounded  as  she  said 
I  would  be..  It  was  not  serious,  and  I  went  home  and  had  a 
nice  time.  That  incident  in  my  life  has  helped  to  confirm 
me  in  my  belief  that  the  so-called  dead  can  communicate  with 
mankind.  I  could  go  on  and  relate  more  incidents  of  like 
nature  that  I  have  experienced,  not  only  in  the  army,  but 
many  that  have  been  just  as  convincing  in  my  many  years  of 
every  day  life. 

[I  made  inquiries  of  Major  Newell  in  regard  to  the  voice. 
The  following  letter  explains — Editor.] 

Seattle,  July  8th,  1910. 
Prof.  James  H.  Hyslop, 
My  Dear  Sir: — 

Your  letter  of  the  19th  of  May,  was  rec'd  in  time,  but  ow- 
ing to  my  time  being  so  much  taken  up,  I  could  not  find  time 
to  answer  it.  But  this  morning,- 1  will  take  time  to  answer 
the  questions  you  ask  as  best  I  can. 

You  ask,  how  did  I  know,  that  my  Mother  and  Pierre 
Thomas  were  guiding  me.  The  case  I  mentioned  in  my 
communication,  was  when  I  heard  a  voice  speaking  to  me,  as 
I  was  standing  on  the  bank  of  the  Tennessee  River.  How 
did  I  know  that  it  was  the  voice  of  my  mother?  I  wonder 
how  Eli  knew  that  it  was  God's  voice  that  spoke  to  Samuel 


Personal  Experiences.  293 


that  night  that  Samuel  reported  that  a  voice  was  calling 
him. 

I  am  aware  that  these  voices  are  not  audible,  that  is, 
they  were  not  audible  to  any  other  person  that  might  have 
been  standing  near  me,  but  to  me  they  seemed  to  be  audible. 
There  was  a  certain  expression  about  the  voice.  If  your 
wife  was  in  another  room,  and  you  heard  her  call  to  you, 
you  would  reply,  knowing  that  it  was  your  wife,  without 
going  to  see  who  spoke.  There  is  a  certain  expression  to 
every  voice,  that  we  know  who  speaks,  especially  if  it  is  a 
person  as  near  to  you  as  your  mother.  After  she  left  her 
body,  there  was  never  a  week  passed  but  what  I  heard  her 
speaking  to  me.  Often,  it  was  in  the  stillness  of  my  room  at 
night,  when  it  was  so  dark  that  I  could  not  see  anything  in 
the  room.  Again  it  was  when  a  boy  at  play,  I  would  hear 
her  words  of  caution,  as  she  seemed  to  be  near  me,  watching 
over  my  every  act  of  life.  There  is  a  tone  of  expression  that 
cannot  be  mistaken.  In  speaking  to  me,  she  always  used  my 
first  name,  Cicero.  That  name  was  hardly  known  in  the 
army,  outside  of  a  few  of  the  boys  that  went  with  me  into  the 
army.  I  was  only  known  as  Captain  or  the  rank  by  which 
I  was  known. 

Then  you  ask,  Why  did  I  know  that  it  was  Pierre  Thomas 
that  was  guiding  me. 

Here  is  a  question  that  needs  more  explanation.  I  never 
knew  Pierre  Thomas  when  he  was  in  earth  life. 

But  I  knew  this.  After  I  was  commisioned  an  officer  of 
Cavalry,  there  was  an  influence  that  often  came  to  me,  that 
was  so  different  from  that  of  my  mother.  Whenever  I  felt 
it,  it  made  me  feel  like  another  person.  I  was  in  a  high  ner- 
vous strain,  every  move  I  made  was  quick  and  very  impulsive, 
there  was  a  short  quick  snap  about  it.  Every  order  I  gave 
my  men,  was  a  quick,  short  and  very  impulsive  order,  not  in 
the  least  like  myself.  My  nature  was  to  move  slow  and  care- 
ful. I  noticed  that  when  I  acted  as  I  was  impressed  to  do  by 
this  strange  mania,  I  often  call  it,  everything  went  well  with 
me.  I  made  no  mistakes.  Therefore  I  let  it  take  possession 
of  me,  and  I  followed  in  its  lead.  This  strange  mania  would 
impress  me  to  do  things  that  my  better  judgment  said,  "  No, 


294:       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

do  not  do  so."  My  reason  said'  it  was  not  the  thing  to  do. 
But  this  voice,  said,  "  Do  so  and  so."  If  I  disobeyed,  I  suf- 
fered for  not  doing  or  obeying  its  orders.  When  I  started 
with  those  despatches  for  General  Sherman's  Headquarters, 
my  best  judgment  said,  "  Go  back  to  camp,  and  report  that  it 
was  impossible  to  get  through  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  A  full 
Brigade  has  been  driven  back  by  the  enemy,  I  could  not  get 
through  with  one  company."  But  this  voice  said,  "  No. 
You  can  get  through,  follow  my  directions."  That  entire 
night,  I  was  under  the  control  of  that  mania.  When  I  got  to 
Moscow,  my  guide  said,  go  to  the  north.  But  my  reason 
said  NO.  I  must  feel  of  the  enemy  and  see  if  they  were 
there.  I  followed  my  own  reason,  and  found  them  in  force. 
Then  I  listened  to  my  guide.  I  went  as  he  directed.  At 
times  I  could  not  give  way  ''entirely  to  his  promptings. 
Therefore,  I  let  my  own  reason  have  sway.  At  that  time,  I 
did  not  know  that  it  was  Pierre  Thomas,  my  stepfather  or 
grandfather,  as  he  called  himself,  that  was  guiding  my  move- 
ments. But  I  knew  it  was  not  my  mother.  The  influence 
was  so  different. 

This  same  impulse  is  felt  with  many  people  even  at  this 
day.  From  my  experience  in  life,  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  people  are  often  taken  possession  of  by  some  disem- 
bodied spirit,  the  same  as  I  was.  Pierre  Thomas  as  I  stated 
in  my  letter,  was  a  Captain  of  Cavalry  und'er  Napoleon.  His 
love  for  the  Cavalry  service  was  the  same  after  he  left  his 
physical  body  behind,  as  it  was  when  he  was  serving  with 
Napoleon.  Nearly  fifty  years  have  passed  since  I  com- 
manded the  White  Horse  Company  of  the  Third  Cavalry,  but 
the  love  of  White  Horses  is  so  implanted  in  me,  that  when- 
ever I  ride,  it  must  be  a  white  horse.  On  last  Memorial  Day, 
I  was  selected  by  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  as  Field 
Officer  of  the  Day,  or  Grand  Marshall  as  we  sometimes  call 
it.  I  felt  that  I  must  have  my  staff  all  mounted  on  white 
horses.  I  found  where  I  could  get  them.  Therefore  I  had 
my  four  Aides-de-Camp  all  mounted  on  white  horses,  it  goes 
to  prove  to  me  that  the  love  of  the  service  follows  us  through 
many  years.  So  it  was  with  Captain  Thomas.  His  love  for 
the  cavalry  service  was  the  same  as  when  he  was  in  the  flesh. 


Personal  Experiences.  295 


He  has  not  changed.  He  saw  in  me  a  tool  that  he  could  carry 
out  his  love  for  the  cavalry  service.  I  cannot  help  but  think 
and  believe  that  it  was  Captain  Thomas  that  guided  me. 
Then  again,  Captain  Thomas  came  to  me  at  Cincinnati  in, 
I  think  it  was  1869,  and  told  me  through  Lizzie  Kizer  at  a 
public  meeting,  in  a  church  one  Sunday  evening,  that  he  was 
often  with  me  guiding  my  movements.  While  in  Cincinnati, 
I  was  in  the  State  Military  Service.  The  woman,  Lizzie 
Kizer,  acted,  while  giving  the  test,  the  same  as  I  felt  when- 
ever he  was  controlling  me.  How  I  can  better  explain  this 
condition,  I  do  not  know. 

Dr.  Hyslop,  I  am  well  satisfied  in  my  mind  that  many  of 
the  cases  now  before  the  courts,  men  that  are  charged  with 
high  crimes,  are  in  the  same  condition  that  I  was :  only  they 
are  controlled  by  men  or  women  that  seek  to  do  wrong,  but 
they  are  controlled  in  the  same  way.  They  act  on  the  im- 
pulse of  the  moment.  They,  of  themselves,  are  not  to  blame. 
I  can  recall  incidents  that  have  come  into  my  life  when  I  have 
had  to  fight  for  my  life,  as  it  were,  to  overcome  these  strange 
influences  that  would  get  possession  of  me. 

Fraternally  yours, 

CICERO  NEWELL. 


296       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 


EDITORIAL. 
PROFESSOR  MUENSTERBERG'S  PROGRESS. 

In  his  work  on  Psychotherapeutics  Professor  Muensterberg 
flatly  denied  the  existence  of  the  subconscious,  tho  he  said  it 
would  take  a  good  many  words  to  explain  what  was  meant 
by  saying  of  it:  "There  is  none".  However  here  in  the 
magazine  article  on  Beulah  Miller  and  her  phenomena  he 
has  come  so  thoroughly  to  believe  in  the  subconscious  that 
he  uses  it  to  explain  what  he  witnessed.  This  is  certainly 
great  progress.  But  when  and  where  did  he  get  the  evidence 
for  the  existence  of  this  subconscious?  lias  he  ascertained 
that  he  can  no  longer  move  in  respectable  society  unless  he 
believes  in  it?  Has  it  not  revolutionized  his  psychology  to 
accept  the  existence  of  that  which  a  little  while  ago  had  no 
place  whatever  in  it? 

The  papers  heralded  far  and  wide  that  he  was  investiga- 
ting Beulah  Miller,  and  something  was  expected  of  him  in 
this  respect.  He  has  at  last  appeared  with  an  article  in  the 
May  Metropolitan  Magazine.  He  seems  to  have  made  an 
honest  effort  to  ascertain  whether  there  was  any  evidence  for 
telepathy  in  that  case  and  the  present  writer  must  say  that 
he  deserves  much  credit  for  his  willingness  to  experiment 
with  the  child,  a  thing  which  our  other  academic  Philistines 
are  too  dignified  to  do.  There  was  an  opportunity  right  in 
the  locality  for  a  psychologist  to  study  the  case  and  he  seems 
not  to  have  gone  out  of  his  comfortable  nest  even  to  see  it. 
Professor  Muensterberg  shows  more  than  the  usual  academic 
willingness  to  look  into  alleged  marvels  and  this  Journal 
will  not  begrudge  him  any  praise  for  doing  so.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  glad  to  see  the  academic  man  getting  out  of  his 
lair  and  meeting  the  facts. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  state  the  facts  on  which  Professor 
Muensterberg  rests  his  explanation  of  the  case.  Readers 
must  go  to  the  magazine  for  them.  But  he  frankly  admits 


Editorial.  297 


that  he  witnessed  interesting  phenomena.  However,  he  re- 
jects the  telepathic  "  hypothesis  '  and  adopts  that  of  "  unin- 
tentional signals  unconsciously  interpreted  "  as  the  true  expla- 
nation. He  evidently  repudiates  the  conjurer's  right  to  judge 
the  case,  as  he  acquits  the  child  and  the  family  of  all  fraud 
in  the  matter,  and  virtually  implies  that  the  problem  is  for 
the  psychologist,  not  the  conjurer.  With  this  view  we  fully 
agree  and  are  glad  to  see  it  practically  recognized  here. 
But  finding  that  the  conjurer's  simple  hypothesis  of  a  con- 
sciously worked  up  signal  code  does  not  work,  he  resorts  to 
a  modification  of  this  and  makes  it  an  unconscious  signal 
made  by  the  person  transmitting  the  thought  and  an  uncon- 
scious reading  of  this  signal  by  the  child. 

Now  if  Professor  Muensterberg  thinks  he  has  gotten  rid 
of  telepathy  by  any  such  theory  he  ought  to  know  that  he  is 
either  mistaken  in  that  assumption  or  he  is  mistaken  in  re- 
gard to  the  scientific  conception  of  telepathy.  The  mistake, 
I  think,  which  Professor  Muensterberg  makes  in  this  matter 
and  also  in  nearly  all  that  he  says  about  psychic  research  is 
found  in  the  following  facts.  (1)  He  assumes  that  telepathy 
is  essentially  connected  with  some  sort  of  waves  or  vibra- 
tions, brain  or  ethereal,  that  determine  its  nature.  (2)  He 
assumes  that  telepathy  and  the  supernormal  are  loaded  with 
implications  of  the  supernatural,  which  is  precisely  the  thing 
to  be  proved.  (3)  He  assumes  that  there  is  a  distinction 
between  telepathy  and  unconscious  signals  unconsciously 
interpreted. 

Now  it  does  not  seem  to  the  present  writer  than  any  one 
of  these  assumptions  is  correct.  They  prevent  him  from 
seeing  the  real  interest  of  his  facts.  When  you  are  able  to 
call  a  thing  "  natural  "  you  do  not  get  rid  of  its  interest,  if  it  in 
any  way  differs  from  ordinary  experience.  The  word  "  nat- 
ural "  is  only  a  counter  for  fools.  It  covers  everything  from 
the  falling  of  a  stone  to  the  seeing  of  objects,  hearing  sounds, 
color  adaptation  and  all  the  marvels  of  physical  science,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  wilderness  of  the  subconscious.  It  is  worth- 
less for  making  anything  whatsoever  intelligible.  It  only 
excuses  men  from  investigating. 

In  regard  to  the  conception  of  telepathy  which  he   as- 


298       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 


sumes,  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  he  has  a  certain  kind  of  justi- 
fication for  it  in  the  views  of  crack-brained  people  who  ex- 
plain everything  in  the  universe  by  vibrations  and  try  to  re- 
duce telepathy  to  this.  But  Professor  Muensterberg  ought 
to  know  that  psychic  researchers  of  any  scientific  standing  do 
not  hold  to  any  such  views.  It  has  been  a  term  merely  for 
naming  a  class  of  irreducible  facts,  at  least  irreducible  to  or- 
dinary experience.  It  is  not  an  explanation,,  tho  the  public 
that  Professor  Muensterberg  has  in  mind  does  often  take 
that  conception  of  it.  But  he  should  not  make  the  psychic 
researchers  responsible  for  that.  They  have  regarded  it 
merely  as  a  name  for  facts,  not  a  name  for  any  known  process. 
He  should  attack  the  theory  of  brain  waves,  not  the  de- 
scriptive term  telepathy.  He  confuses  issues  here.  And  he 
confuses  them  all  the  more  when  you  see  that  no  one  can 
tell  the  difference  between  telepathy  and  unconscious  signals 
unconsciously  read.  They  may  be  identical.  They  may  be 
different.  No  one  knows,  and  Professor  Muensterberg  has 
given  us  no  evidence  of  what  they  are  in  this  special  case. 
He  rejects  telepathy  because  he  found  no  evidence,  and  he 
might  have  seen  that  the  same  evidence  or  lack  of  evidence 
required  him  to  reject  his  unconscious  signals  unconsciously 
read.  What  is  evidence  for  the  one  may  be  evidence  for  the 
other,  and  what  is  not  evidence  for  one  is  not  evidence  for 
the  other.  If  we  knew  what  telepathy  is,  this  statement 
could  not  be  made,  because  we  do  not  know  what  the  un- 
conscious signals  unconsciously  read  are.  We,  in  fact,  know 
very  little,  if  any  more,  about  subconscious  processes  than  we 
do  about  telepathy.  Both  are  terms  for  our  ignorance  of  all 
but  the  facts.  As  processes  they  may  be  the  same,  or  they 
may  be  different.  Wre  do  not  yet  know.  Both  are  negative 
conceptions  defining  our  ignorance,  and  only  academic  prej- 
udices, which  may  be  good  or  bad,  prevent  us  from  seeing 
this  circumstance. 

Professor  Muensterberg  says  he  did  not  find  evidence  for 
telepathy  in  the  facts  described  in  his  experiments,  and  taking 
them  as  described,  this  verdict  would  not  be  disputed  by  the 
scientific  man.  But  I  think  the  scientific  man  would  also 
say  that  he  gives  no  evidence  for  his  own  theory.  But  there 


Editorial.  299 


is  one  good  thing  in  his  attempt  to  explain,  which  our  be- 
lievers in  "  X  ray  vision  "  and  simpler  theories  would  do  well 
to  note.  Professor  Muensterberg  proceeds  along  correct 
lines  in  searching  for  his  explanation.  He  does  not  use  terms 
that  are  new.  He  does  not  coin  phrases  that  cannot  pos- 
sibly mean  more  than  the  facts  themselves.  He  employs  the 
language  of  familiar  experience.  He  associates  his  explana- 
tion with  the  idea  of  signals  which  we  understand  in  normal 
life,  and  which  in  the  subnormal  life  can  be  made  a  more  or 
less  familiar  fact  within  certain  limits.  He  gets  the  advan- 
tage of  appealing  to  the  known,  or  apparently  known,  and 
thus  satisfies  scientific  requirements.  But  he  does  not  see, 
apparently,  that  the  scientific  requirement  also  demands  that 
he  prove  the  application  of  his  hypothesis  to  the  facts.  He 
only  guesses  at  this  and  readers  take  his  ipse  dixit  based  on  a 
guess  for  the  fact  when  he  has  no  more  evidence  for  the  actual 
signs  used  than  he  has  for  telepathy.  The  public  that  is  as 
much  prejudiced  against  telepathy  as  its  adherents  are  for  it, 
shouts  with  approval  while  the  advocates,  grind  their  teeth 
with  rage,  and  both  are  wrong! 

The  public,  however,  which  favors  telepathy  has  itself 
largely  to  blame  for  the  situation.  It  will  not  suspend  its 
judgment,  but  rushes  into  absurd  explanations  of  telepathy 
which  come  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  term  tho  it  was  intended 
only  to  name  facts  not  normally  explained.  Now  there  is 
nothing  clearer  than  that  Professor  Muensterberg  has  to  ad- 
mit that  the  facts  are  not  normal.  People  going  about  are 
not  generally  reading  unconscious  signals  unconsciously 
made  by  others  in  the  coincidental  way  described  with  Beulah 
Miller.  The  facts  are  exceptional.  This  Professor  Muen- 
sterberg admits,  and  what  more  beyond  the  normal  could  you 
have  than  unconscious  reading  of  unconscious  signals?  But 
you  say  it  is  not  supernormal.  Well,  you  say  it  is  not  ab- 
normal, as  you  do  not  apply  hysteria  to  the  case,  or  any 
other  condition  justifying  that  description.  Nor  is  the  phe- 
nomena in  any  rational  sense  subnormal.  You  cannot  but 
call  it  supernormal,  tho  that  term  may  not  take  us  be- 
yond the  fact  that  the  case  is  exceptional  and  not 
reducible  to  what  we  call  the  normal  in  its  accepted 


300       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

sense.  This  only  means  that  both  the  normal  and 
the  supernormal  are  relative  terms.  You  can  draw 
the  line  where  you  please.  It  does  not  help  to  call 
the  subconscious  normal.  It  was  not  long  since  that  the 
subconscious  was  not  suspected  and  it  was  not  long  since 
that  Professor  Muensterberg  himself  denied  the  existence  of 
the  subconscious,  as  we  have  remarked  above.  Then  the 
subconscious  was  not  normal,  and  we  have  only  stretched  the 
meaning  of  the  term  normal  when  we  resolve  to  include  the 
subconscious  in  it.  Now  when  you  go  still  farther  and  speak 
of  unconscious  reading  of  unconscious  signals  you  are  again 
stretching  the  term  normal  beyond  all  rational  meaning  when 
you  apply  it  to  such  phenomena.  I  have  no  objections  to  do- 
ing so,  but  I  would  not  be  under  any  illusions  that  I  had 
eliminated  the  mystery  of  the  case.  We  could  just  as  well 
call  telepathy  normal  in  order  to  answer  prejudice,  and  Pro- 
fessor Muensterberg' s  procedure  is  only  juggling  with  words 
in  fact,  if  he  supposes  that  he  has  satisfied  any  scientific  mind 
by  this  sort  of  conjuring  when  we  want  to  know  what  the 
signals  are  and  how  little  Beulah  Miller  interprets  them  only 
on  such  emergencies.  She  ought  to  be  the  victim  of  untold 
obsessions  from  such  unconscious  signals  from  her  mother 
and  sister.  All  that  Professor  Muensterberg  has  really  done 
is  to  cover  up  unexplained  facts  by  familiar  words  which  do 
not  apply  at  all,  at  least  so  far  as  the  evidence  goes.  He  is 
half  conscious  of  this  when  he  admits  that  it  would  take 
months  to  experiment  adequately  with  the  child,  and  he 
would  have  done  better  to  have  insisted  on  this  and  not 
rushed  to  a  magazine  with  a  garbled  account  of  such  experi- 
ments as  he  has  described. 

We  hope  ourselves  to  have  something  to  say  about  the 
case  later.  It  will  depend  on  whether  we  shall  be  allowed  to 
experiment  even  as  much  as  was  Professor  Muensterberg. 
In  the  meantime  it  may  be  well  to  recognize  that  popular 
conceptions  of  telepathy  are  not  the  ones  which  should  be 
attacked  unless  you  distinguish  between  them  and  the  de- 
scriptive meaning  of  the  term  as  used  by  scientific  men.  In 
this  respect  the  article  of  Professor  Muensterberg  only 
throws  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  though  he  may  be  well 


Editorial.  301 


meaning  enough  in  this.  I  can  quite  understand  his  preju- 
dices in  favor  of  "  normal  "  explanations  where  you  can  get 
them.  That  is  the  business  of  all  of  us.  But  there  is  no 
use  to  suppose  that  telepathy  overthrows  psycholog- 
ical science  any  more  than  does  the  conscious  or 
the  subconscious  reading  of  unconscious  signals.  Psy- 
chology cannot  be  overthrown  by  any  facts,  normal 
or  supernormal.  Only  our  worthless  metaphysics  about 
it  is  likely  to  be  disturbed  by  telepathy  and  other  facts.  Half 
the  talk  we  hear  about  the  brain  and  its  processes  is  pure 
metaphysics  and  imagination,  and  so  are  likely  to  be  over- 
thrown by  every  new  fact  we  find,  whether  normal  or  other- 
wise. But  what  we  really  know  about  psychology  will  never 
be  set  aside  by  knowing  more.  Professor  Muensterberg  con- 
fuses his  metaphysics  with  science  in  this  problem.  Telep- 
athy might  well  revolutionize  his  metaphysics  and  so  ought 
this  talk  about  subconscious  reading  of  subconscious  signals, 
but  they  would  never  revolutionize  scientific  facts  that  have 
been  established.  He  is  unduly  frightened  about  his  meta- 
physics in  the  name  of  science. 

I  think  that  the  chief  criticism  that  can  be  brought  against 
Professor  Muensterberg's  attitude  of  mind  is  the  one  that 
can  be  brought  against  the  academic  mind  always.  In  his 
antagonism  to  the  layman  the  academic  votary  gets  into  the 
habit  of  confusing  cautiousness  with  mere  throwing  of  dust. 
When  he  had  to  face  Mesmerism  he  talked  glibly  of  the  im- 
agination. When  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  imagination 
as  a  miracle  worker,  tho  he  might  have  had  more  sense  than 
to  adopt  it,  he  took  his  stand  on  "  suggestion  ",  and  now  he 
has  worn  that  threadbare,  tho  it  never  meant  anything  so  in- 
telligible as  the  imagination.  Now  he  goes  into  the  impen- 
etrable wilderness  of  the  subconscious  with  the  same  con- 
fidence that  he  had  displayed  in  his  reference  to  imagination 
and  "  suggestion  ".  He  constantly  changes  his  ground,  tho 
he  insists  that  he  has  not  done  so.  The  more  he  changes  the 
more  he  remains  the  same.  He  never  knows  when  he  is 
whipped.  He  changes  his  terms  and  supposes  that  the  si- 
lence of  his  antagonist  is  a  sign  of  their  vanquishment.  The 
recent  performance  of  the  academic  gentleman  under  reviewr 


302       Journal  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

illustrates  it  clearly  and  even  the  newspaper  editors  had  the 
sense  of  humor  and  insight  to  see  through  its  dust  throwing 
nature  by  saying  of  it :  "According  to  the  experts  Beulah 
Miller  is  not  at  all  a  psychic  mystery,  but  something  still 
harder  to  understand."  Some  day  these  academic  priests, 
like  the  Roman  augurs,  will  smile  when  they  meet. 


Book  Reviews.          f      -  f     :  j J/;'  \ :  ;;39.3  :  ,\ 


BOOK  REVIEWS. 

Spiritism  and  Psychology.  By  Th.  Flournoy.  Translated  from 
the  French  by  Hereward  Carrington.  Harper  and  Brothers, 
New  York.  1911. 

This  is  a  translation  of  the  work  by  Th.  Flournoy  entitled 
"  Esprits  et  Mediums ",  with  the  explanatory  title  "  Melanges  de 
Metapsychiqne  et  de  Psychologic"  The  translator's  title  very  much 
abbreviates  the  author's.  He  has  also  abbreviated  the  matter 
so  that  the  translation  contains  less  than  one-third  of  the  original. 
It  contains  the  more  interesting  discussions  and  facts  of  the  au- 
thor. There  is  also  a  considerable  Introduction  by  Mr.  Carring- 
ton in  which  he  explains  the  philosophical  position  of  the  author 
and  defends  the  Palladino  case  in  this  country,  as  this  subject 
comes  up  in  the  work  of  Professor  Flournoy. 

The  book  should  obtain  a  reading  in  this  country  and  perhaps 
it  is  sure  to  do  this  from  all  who  know  his  remarkably  interesting 
volume  "From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars  ".  It  will  receive  more  aca- 
demic attention  than  most  literature  on  psychic  research,  and  yet 
the  academic  man  will  be  disappointed  if  he  expects  to  find  a  re- 
jection of  all  supernormal  phenomena.  Professor  Flournoy  ac- 
cepts the  genuineness  of  physical  phenomena  without  offering  an 
explanation  of  them.  He  criticizes  the  spiritistic  theory,  tho  be- 
lieving in  a  future  life.  The  unreformed  sceptic  will  not  like  the 
concessions  that  he  makes  to  the  supernormal,  but  they  are  here. 
Yet  he  is  conservative  in  the  treatment  of  it.  Psychic  researchers 
will  be  interested  in  it  greatly  and  we  are  very  glad  that  it  has 
been  translated.  When  reviewing  the  original  we  expressed  the 
wish  that  it  were  done.  Our  wish  has  here  been  fulfilled. 

We  could  go  into  a  minute  examination  of  the  book,  and 
discuss  the  views  expressed  on  their  merits.  But  there  is  noth- 
ing in  the  authors  views  that  would  justify  controversy.  Tho 
differing  with  him  more,  perhaps,  than  Mr.  Carrington,  the  book 
is  too  sympathetic  with  the  truth  to  entertain  any  hostility  toward 
his  point  of  view  or  opinions. 

There  are  perhaps  some  things  introduced  by  the  translator 
that  are  hardly  relevant  to  a  book  that  did  not  contain  them  and 
perhaps  some  unwary  inconsistencies  between  statements  in  the 
Introduction  and  discussions  in  it  and  in  later  notes.  But  I  shall 
not  particularize. 


of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

The  Coping  Stone.     By  E.  Katharine  Bates.     Greening  and  Co.. 
London,  1812. 

Miss  Bates  is  rather  fertile  in  the  use  of  her  pen.  It  has  no1 
been  long  since  we  reviewed  two  other  books  of  hers.  The  pres- 
ent one  gets  its  title  from  the  last  chapter.  The  next  to  last  i< 
called  the  Prelude  and  the  fact  that  there  is  no  Preface  leaves  uj 
to  our  wits  to  know  why  the  Prelude  comes  last.  Apparently 
there  was  a  justifiable  motive  "in  this.  The  book  is  not  primaril; 
for  helping  in  scientific  psychic  research,  tho  incidents  of  im- 
portance are  scattered  throughout  the  book.  There  is  a  variety 
of  subjects  treated,  but  they  all  have  a  "  spiritual  "  meaning,  \\ 
we  may  appropriate  its  ethical  and  religious  coloring  to  describ< 
its  departure  from  the  strictly  scientific  role.  The  book  will  b< 
helpful  to  those  who  want  to  see  more  than  tests  of  the  super- 
normal and  who  wish  to  know  the  relations  and  bearings  of  th< 
fundamental  problem  with  which  the  scientific  researcher  into  th< 
facts  is  employed.  Miss  Bates  always  brings  the  subject  out  oi 
the  laboratory  and  spices  it  with  general  ethical  values  and  isj 
sues.  As  critical  students  of  the  problem  we  should  have  to 
that  she  does  not  satisfy  scepticism  with  her  facts,  but  we  musi 
not  put  ourselves  in  the.  position  of  the  mathematician  who  inj 
sisted  that  Paradise  Lost  proved  nothing.  There  are  other  values 
in  life  besides  proof,  and  then  experiences  like  these  in  abundanci 
would  go  a  long  way  toward  proof,  if  they  did  not  actually 
achieve  it. 


A  Mathematical  Theory  of  Spirit.     By  H.  Stanley  Redgrove,  Assist] 
ant   Lecturer  in   Mathematics  at  the  Polytechnic,   Lond< 
William  Rider  and  Son   Ltd.     London. 

It  would  hardly  be  too  much  to  say  that  the  author  starts  ou 
with  the  promise  to  apply  mathematics  to  metaphysical  problem) 
and  then  forgets  his  promise  and  never  attempts  to  fulfill  i1 
There  does  not  seem  to  be  the  slightest  trace  of  what  mathe] 
matics  are,  except  that  if  you  multiply  2  by  2  you  get  4  as 
product  or  A  by  B  you  get  AB.  The  elementary  processes 
mathematics  are  mentioned  but  the  book  ends  with  that,  t 
there  are  some  statements  about  Swedenborg  who  evidently 
fluenced  the  author's  thinking.  But--  anything  like  applying 
mathematics  to  metaphysics  is  wholly  absent  from  the  book. 


An  Italian  Critique  of  an 
American  Book 


46739 


By   Carlo   Formichi,    Professor  of  Sanskrit   and    English    in  the 
University  of  Pisa. 

Translate^— knm   Coenobium,    Lugano,   March,    1913,  pp  67  -69. 


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